Everyone wins. Ratepayers win. Labor wins. The environment wins. Connecticut wins. This is the most important achievement as we consider the development of a hyperscale AI data center next to the Millstone nuclear power station.
First, let’s consider the ratepayer. The state collects mandated fees on electricity sold in Connecticut. The data center will pay more than $1.15 billion in fees over 30 years. All of this is new revenue for the state of Connecticut, which satisfies more than one-third of the state’s clean energy contracts and eases the burden on ratepayers (see the last two lines of your monthly bill please). In addition, the data center will pay an additional $63 million to the Energy Assistance Fund, providing even more benefits to ratepayers.
Next, think about work. The construction itself will require more than 6 million hours of labor for a wide range of contractors. Connecticut unions already have agreements in place with developers. Once complete, the data center will directly support 200 full-time, high-wage jobs, plus hundreds of jobs with required maintenance and regular server replacement. The direct hires would add up to 10,000 jobs through the supply chain and help increase aggregate demand flowing into the state’s economy.
Thirdly, we are concerned about the environment. The transition to clean energy is critical. Nuclear power is a key part of that equation. This will be the first virtually clean data center in the United States. Equally important, there are benefits to building large power users near power plants to prevent grid congestion.
Fourth, consider the state of Connecticut. The state itself will directly benefit, saving millions of dollars by moving its data processing to this facility with his 27.5% discount on a 30-year contract. Additionally, states would benefit from new income tax revenue. And these benefits do not include the anticipated colocation effects that may be caused by this AI data center development. AI is rapidly becoming the single most powerful driver of economic growth. Businesses often need to be located near data centers that provide critical processing. After suffering 35 years of stagnation, Connecticut is now experiencing a strong recovery in job and business creation. The Waterford AI Data Center will sustain and expand that recovery. It promises to result in a much more competitive economy.
There are misplaced concerns about the power grid’s ability to support development of this scale. Currently, the capacity of the Regional Multistate Electricity Network (ISO-NE) is 28,500 MW. Of this, 52% can be sold during peak demand in winter. At the peak of summer, 25% remains. The grid’s capacity will also increase significantly soon, with 404 projects on standby, adding 41,000 MW, well over twice its current capacity. It has a huge amount of new battery storage, solar and wind assets waiting for it. We have strong, resilient and growing power capacity to support our power grid. There should be no real concerns in this regard.
We now live in a world where future economic growth will be largely driven by AI, a truly revolutionary development that is still in its infancy. The question before us is very simple. Who will lead the AI revolution? Will Connecticut be one of the leaders? AI data centers will be developed in many places and in many countries. Connecticut has an opportunity to play a leading role in this exciting new and powerful development, restoring its historic role as a national leader and addressing the importance of the development of the Internet in the early 1990s. After that, you can finally reset the economy.
Bottom line: The Waterford AI Data Center will have serious long-term benefits for all stakeholders and all citizens. Ratepayers win, workers win, the environment wins, and Connecticut wins. High-performance computing AI data centers are putting us on the path to a better tomorrow.
Thomas Quinn is president of NE Edge, a data center development company.
