LS Power has submitted an application to develop around 700 MW of new power generation across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia as part of PJM Interconnection’s Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI). This initiative is designed to accelerate the integration of high-reliability, shovel-ready energy projects into the grid. As data centers proliferate and electrification grows within the PJM region, a significant rise in forecasted demand for electricity necessitates additional generation capacity.

“Given the surging demand in the region, LS Power is stepping up to provide more dispatchable generation that supports reliability and resource adequacy, and at a cost lower than greenfield new builds,” stated Nathan Hanson, President of LS Power Generation.

LS Power’s proposal includes upgrading two peaking facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania into base-load combined-cycle plants, along with uprates at other existing plants in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The two conversion projects at the Troy facility in Ohio and the Armstrong facility in Pennsylvania are expected to add around 600 MW by incorporating a steam cycle at each plant. Additionally, capacity uprates at LS Power’s Doswell (Virginia), Hummel, and Hunterstown (both in Pennsylvania) will contribute approximately 100 MW.

Over a year ago, LS Power reached an agreement with an affiliate of Platinum Equity to acquire the 810 MW Hunterstown combined-cycle plant in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

As part of the RRI, PJM will select up to 50 projects, with proposals being evaluated based on "market impact criteria" including their contribution to reliability and the feasibility of their commercial operation dates.

Concerns regarding the growing electricity supply-demand gap in the PJM territory intensified after the capacity auction last July. The auction saw electricity prices soar by more than 800%, jumping from $29 per megawatt-day to $270. Factors contributing to the price increase include insufficient future transmission planning, the retirement of fossil-fired generation, long interconnection queues, and the implementation of FERC market reforms.

In August, LS Power also announced the closure of its Fund V, which raised a total of $2.7 billion, surpassing its $2.5 billion target. The fund is dedicated to investing in power and energy infrastructure, as well as related assets and companies.

Originally reported by Kevin Clark in Power Engineering Factor This.