Talen Energy has turned to a U.S. appeals court to challenge a ruling made by federal regulators last year in regard to a power agreement with an Amazon data center directly linked to Talen's nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. This move was revealed in court documents filed this week.
In the race to expand their extensive AI data centers, major tech companies are increasingly drawn to the concept of colocating these facilities at power plant sites, termed co-location. This method offers a swift means for the industry to access substantial electricity capacities.
Earlier in the year, Talen finalized the sale of the data center campus at its Susquehanna nuclear generating facility to Amazon. This transaction aimed to eventually provide the center with nearly 1 gigawatt of electricity, sufficient to power all homes in Philadelphia.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in a decision made last December, declined Talen's request for a revised interconnection agreement to boost electricity provisions to the data center.
While there are diverse approaches to co-locate energy resources, the Talen agreement entails rerouting electricity from the regional power grid, a move FERC believes could exacerbate imbalances in supply and demand in certain parts of the national electric system.
Talen is currently seeking a review of FERC's denial, which includes a previously rejected appeal for reconsideration, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Should the court opt to address the request, the outcome might involve a reversal of FERC's rulings or a remand of the case back to the regulators for further evaluation. It could also result in the court affirming the decision made by the regulatory agency.