May 09, 2025 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
US Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) PJM Interconnection, has selected 51 projects for its fast-track interconnection review process to meet surging energy demand primarily from the data center market. The projects selected have a combined capacity of 11.8GW. Of that, gas-fired generation makes up 69 percent, followed by battery energy storage (BESS) at 19 percent, nuclear at 12 percent, and coal at 0.1 percent.
The projects include 12 new power facilities and 39 uprates (capacity increases) at existing facilities. The 39 uprate projects have a combined capacity of 2.108GW of unforced capacity (UCAP) - the amount of energy a resource can provide during the highest system reliability risk.
The projects were selected from a pool of 94 applicants, with a combined capacity of 26.6GW. The selection criteria were based on which projects provide the most value to UCAP and which have the capacity to connect to the grid the fastest. The projects are expected to come online 18 months sooner than if they went through the RTO’s standard interconnection process.
