Commonwealth Fusion Systems on April 28 said it has applied to connect its first ARC fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia, to the PJM Interconnection.
“When we submitted a Generation Interconnection Request last week with PJM, we became the first fusion power plant developer to take this definitive step with a major grid operator — pairing the breakthrough technology of fusion with real-world infrastructure to power our future," it said.
"Although fusion energy on the grid is new, the path we’re taking to get it there isn’t. We’re applying for a home on the PJM system just like any other power plant must, and in many ways, our fusion power plant will look just like the 1,400 or so other interconnected generators already there," the company said.
"It’ll be just another source of electricity, except that instead of using the heat from burning coal or natural gas to boil water for a steam turbine, we’ll use the heat from the fusion process. That means our ARC plants can be the new building blocks for the grid, swapping in for older decommissioned coal or gas plants and arriving where demand is growing, capitalizing on the same grid infrastructure that exists today."
In Massachusetts, the company is building a fusion demonstration machine called SPARC, which will "prove that most of our core technology works, but it won’t be until the ARC power plant operates that we actually generate electricity," it said.
The company said that adding 400 megawatts of power from its first ARC fusion power plant to the existing generation in the PJM Interconnection is a major move for the following reasons:
- The scale: PJM is the largest wholesale electricity market in the world, serving about 182,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity to more than 65 million customers.
- The rigor: "This is more than a conceptual design. Using sophisticated grid simulation models, PJM will diligently stress-test our plant’s generation systems to ensure it can connect reliably to help meet the region’s surging energy demands."
- The timeline: From the start of the study process to the generation of electricity, the process can take four to six years. Submitting the interconnection request is one of the long-lead actions "that anyone needs to take to truly be serious about providing power in the early 2030s."
- The customers: The company's customers "want clean, firm power in the markets where they operate. The Fall Line Fusion Power Plant is located in the heart of Virginia, the data center capital of the world and the region with the highest forecasted load growth in the country. Google, our first customer, will buy half of the power that the ARC fusion power plant produces."
The interconnection application kicks off a series of deep engineering studies to ensure the grid can safely and reliably handle the influx of the new generating capacity and energy it plans to provide. Navigating grid interconnection is a complex, multiyear process, the company noted.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems noted it is submitting its request into PJM’s reformed interconnection process — a new system designed to speed grid interconnections. "This starts with a detailed design of the power generation systems and their integrated operations with the fusion machine. From this we developed study-ready models for electrical systems and physics simulations that PJM will use to evaluate how our ARC power plant will integrate with the grid."
Commonwealth Fusion Systems pointed out that in order to meet its early 2030s schedule for ARC power plant commercial operation, it must begin securing its place on the grid now.
"We’re confident SPARC will successfully demonstrate most of our fusion technology, but we’re also working on the ARC plant effort now so we can deliver fusion energy by the early 2030s. We’ve chosen a site for the plant in Virginia, secured a joint development agreement with Dominion Energy, obtained a conditional use permit, and secured offtake through power purchase agreements with Google and Eni as our first customers. Applying to interconnect the plant to the PJM grid is the newest step."
Entering the PJM queue now provides the necessary lead time to study this project, along with many other projects that will be studied as a single group of changes, so PJM can determine and execute the system upgrades and long-term transmission projects necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of the PJM grid, the company went on to say.
