Delivering Shared Benefits Through Contracting
As energy demand grows and the grid faces increasing pressure, securing reliable electricity is essential. At Constellation, we help businesses secure supply by contracting their loads within close proximity to one of our Clean Energy Centers, providing reliable power and supporting the expansion of the nation's data center economy. It also benefits local communities by creating thousands of jobs, minimizing costs for utility customers and reduces the impact of power generation on local environments. By pairing nuclear power plants with data centers, we can extend the lifespans of these clean, safe, reliable facilities and deliver wins for large load customers, utility customers and the environment.
Contracted load arrangements provide many additional benefits, including:
- Shortened Interconnection Timelines: Connecting a facility to the grid often requires building a new substation and other transmission grid infrastructure – a process that can take utilities years to plan, design, permit and construct. Contracting reduces the need for extensive interconnection facilities and significantly shortens otherwise lengthy interconnection timelines.
- Improved Efficiency: Grid efficiency improves and energy line losses are reduced when large loads are located close to the power supplies that support them. By contrast, locating new loads far from energy generation sources create a need for the grid to transfer power over longer distances, likely requiring more upgrades.
- Contracted Load Cost Responsibility: Infrastructure costs for connecting new loads to the grid are expected to be higher than the costs for contracting loads with existing generation resources. These grid connection costs are typically shared among other grid customers. However, for contracted loads, the costs for private behind-the-meter delivery facilities will be paid entirely by the contracted load, ensuring other grid customers are not responsible for these additional expenses.
- Assured Reliability: Grid operators analyze the contract of load and generation to ensure it poses no risk to grid stability. When infrastructure upgrades are necessary, the generator is responsible for the costs. Adding new demand has the same impact on reliability whether it's directly connected to the grid or contracted with a generation source. Contracted loads can even improve reliability by reducing the need to transport power over long distances on the grid.
- Long-Term Certainty: Long-term contracted arrangements with nuclear resources provide the financial stability needed to justify the significant cost of relicensing existing reactors, ensuring that safe, reliable emissions-free generation will be available well into the future. Contracted loads can also support investments in uprate projects, which would not be feasible without the long-term commitment from an off-taker.