CERAWEEK: Data center growth prompts move to accelerate fusion in Virginia

Virginia has the largest data center demand concentration in the world, and it continues to grow, which is why the state wants the world's first utility-scale nuclear fusion-powered generator, the state's governor and the CEO of its largest utility said at a conference in Houston.

"It's reported that 70% of the world's Internet traffic goes through Virginia, and if you were looking for the cloud, it is not up in the air, it is in Northern Virginia," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said during a "Dinner & Dialogue" event March 11 at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. "That's where the cloud is. And therefore, the power demand has increased investment, and of course, the pace of developments in data centers and artificial intelligence is putting on the grid has increased the expectations for demand for power in Virginia at an extraordinary rate, but also the country. We have a forecast that suggests that we need to double -- literally double -- the generating capacity in the commonwealth over the course of the next 10 years."

Therefore, Youngkin approached Bob Mumgaard, cofounder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, about locating its first commercial fusion generator with a capacity of 400 MW in Virginia, which was announced in December to be placed at a site south of Richmond, to begin operating in the early 2030s.

Mumgaard, also on the panel, said his company researched potential locations for about two years before settling on the Virginia location. One factor in the decision included finding "communities that are receptive to new technologies." Another is how quickly regulatory and interconnection bottlenecks can be resolved.

"This is where 'Virginia moving at the speed of business' was really important," Mumgaard said.

New tech experience helps

Bob Blue, Dominion Energy chairman, president and CEO, said his company has a history of embracing new technologies.

"We built the first 500-kV transmission system in the US," Blue said. "We built the biggest pumped-storage facility in the world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we deployed the first GE 75 gas turbine, which really began the golden age of gas turbines in America. The idea that we would partner with something new like [fusion] sort of fits our culture."

Dominion's Virginia power demand is growing at a 6% annual rate over the next decade, Blue said.

"Our company has connected 415 data centers to date with a load of about 9 GW," and more are on the way, Blue said.

Youngkin said he hopes power demand to grow faster than 6% a year, because "whoever wins this power race is going to unleash the economic opportunity that comes with it, and if it can't come to Virginia, it will go someplace else."

"Fusion is so important because it changes the whole game," Youngkin said. "There's a race to lead the world in power generation."

Mumgaard noted that his company accounts for about 30% of the people and $7 billion capital invested in fusion, but he added, "We're eclipsed by the Chinese program."

Youngkin said, "China is not a competitor; they are behaving like an adversary."

But China is building a wide variety of generation, including coal plants, small modular nuclear reactors, large conventional nuclear reactors, in addition to its fusion effort, Youngkin said.

'We think we're leading'

"We've got to drive hard to accelerate fusion," Youngkin said.

Mumgaard said, "We think we're leading that race." Commonweatlh Fusion is building a 100-MW demonstration fusion generator in Massachusetts. "We've been at it for three years, and we've got about two more years left to go."

Nuclear fusion machines such as the one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology create temperatures at the level of 100 million degrees Fahrenheit, "the hottest thing in the solar system -- hotter than the sun."

Commonwealth Fusion's approach to ensuring local communities are comfortable with the new technology was a factor in Youngkin's pursuit of the company.

"I had a number of questions," Youngkin said. "I did not want to be the governor that unleased a small sun in my state. I also didn't want to be a governor that unleased an unbounded responsibility or liability on ratepayers in Virginia."

Therefore, Commonwealth Fusion plans to sell the power through a purchase agreement so regular ratepayers are unaffected, Youngkin said.

Dominion's Blue said he thinks large customers such as data centers might be the initial customers for fusion power.

"But ultimately, if this is a technology that is proven out, then companies like mine are going to be interested in deploying this the same way we deploy other technologies," Blue said. "If the financials work and the operations work effectively, then we would certainly [deploy them]. That's why we've been working with CFS, frankly. Even before they came down starting in 2018, we had folks who were interacting with CFS."