Pennsylvania-based utility company PPL has reported a significant 12 percent increase in its advanced-stage data center pipeline, now projected to reach 28.3 gigawatts (GW) by 2034. This marks a notable rise from the 25.2 GW reported just three months ago, as shared during the company’s latest earnings call.
PPL expects 600 megawatts (MW) of the total 28.3 GW to come online within this year, with 20.7 GW projected to be operational by 2030. The company’s growth in the data center space underscores the increasing demand for reliable energy infrastructure to support the construction and operation of data centers across Pennsylvania.
The utility currently has over 5 GW of data center load under construction in its coverage area, with major companies, including QTS, AWS, and CoreWeave, developing facilities within the state.
In addition to its pipeline expansion, PPL has announced progress on an unregulated joint venture with Blackstone Infrastructure. This partnership focuses on building power generation equipment specifically for data centers. According to Vincent Sorgi, PPL’s president and CEO, the company has made strides in collaborating with hyperscalers and is actively pursuing multiple gas turbine reservation agreements.
"Based on the progress to date with the hyperscalers, we are executing multiple gas turbine reservation agreements and have submitted requests for multiple generation projects into PJM’s interconnection queue", said Sorgi.
The first projects tied to this joint venture are expected to be announced later this year. Sorgi also noted that the venture might participate in the PJM Interconnection’s proposed reliability backstop auction for large loads, contingent on the program's finalized rules.
"There’s quite a bit of work that needs to be done to ensure that the costs that are related to any backstop auction are actually borne by the large loads", Sorgi said. "It’s not clear as written or as proposed that we would actually get that result."
PPL's growth in data center capacity is not limited to Pennsylvania. The company’s subsidiaries, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, reported a significant jump in their data center pipeline, increasing from 8 GW last quarter to 11.9 GW currently.
PPL serves more than 1.4 million energy customers in Pennsylvania, demonstrating its pivotal role in supporting the state’s energy infrastructure. With its growing pipeline and partnerships, the company is positioning itself as a key player in the evolving data center landscape.
