The power purchase agreement will also extend operations at Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois for two decades and replace an expiring state tax credit.

The most commonly exposed device has been discontinued and vulnerable for a decade, new research found.

The ability to transfer tax credits has allowed for new investors, new structures and faster deals, experts say, but is threatened by congressional budget proposals.

Also, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator has vastly overestimated the power supplies it will need in coming years to meet demand for electricity, market monitor David Patton said.

These tariffs were designed to offer large loads access to renewable energy, but they could be expanded to baseload generation to remove at-risk generation from the utility’s books.

Grid access must be treated as a scarce, priced product. That means building markets for interconnection capacity, avoiding socialized costs and ensuring that those who impose system costs bear them.

“Data centers could overwhelm the grids if they chose to,” Joseph Bowring, Market Analytics president, said. He called for requiring data centers to run their facilities on new power sources.

FERC Chairman Mark Christie posed a hypothetical question: Should the commission require grid operators to establish mandatory reserve margins for all load-serving entities?

“I think we have to be careful that we don’t over-generalize the solution to the growth question,” said Will Conkling, Google’s head of data center energy, Americas.

To reach their potential, SMRs will require effective support across the entire development cycle — and a sustained commitment based on bipartisan, long-term political backing.

“Our national security depends on a resilient and secure energy grid,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. Experts say the new effort would be welcomed by the private sector.