Nuclear plants could generate clean hydrogen for grid backup
IP3 Corporation and Green Energy Partners have formed a joint venture to work on a “green energy centre” with future options to build carbon-free hydrogen and nuclear energy production facilities.
The Surry Green Energy Center (SGEC) in Surry County, Virginia, was first announced in April 2023, with Green Energy Partners buying 641 acres (259 hectares) of land next to Dominion Energy’s Surry nuclear power station, which houses two 838 MW pressurised water reactors.
The two Virginia-based companies are planning to develop between 20 and 30 green data centres, plus a fleet of four to six small modular reactors to generate hydrogen fuel to provide backup power to Virginia’s grid.
If all goes according to plan, the future power supply will be able to support regional government agencies and military bases from Washington DC to Norfolk Virginia. The SGEC could bring more than 3,000 jobs to the county.
IP3, a US-based nuclear power provider, will handle the project development, financial structuring, and funding solutions for the project using a phased approach.
Green Energy Partners develops solar energy-powered facilities.
According to Data Center Dynamics, Virginia has the largest data centre market in the world, processing over 70% of the globe’s Internet data. Data Center Dynamics said the state is “saturated with data centres across the board” and is particularly populated in the Loudoun, Ashburn, Fairfax, and Prince William counties among others. Data centres consume around 25% of Virginia’s energy.
