The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) of Calvert County voices its opposition to amendment 833524/1 to State Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which would ban the establishment of a data center co-located with the Constellation Energy at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (Calvert Cliffs) in Calvert County, Maryland. This amended legislation not only threatens to eliminate a projected 1,000 jobs from Calvert County and the state of Maryland, but also risks tens of millions of dollars in essential tax revenue.
We strongly support the consumer protections provided in SB1 as presented by Senator Malcolm Augustine, which aims to protect people buying energy for their homes. However, House Committee amendments to the bill could make electricity more expensive at a time when many residents are already struggling with rising living costs. It is equally concerning that this amendment, which changes the character of the legislation from a praise-worthy consumer-protection bill, was introduced in a way that did not allow for any public input.
While the original bill tries to keep energy prices fair, the new amendments could increase what consumers pay for electricity. These changes may lead to higher costs for businesses, and often, these costs are passed down to consumers.
This amendment bans a data center from being co-located with a power plant and forces it to be connected to the public grid. Unfortunately, this makes a data center with intensive power needs more susceptible to fluctuations and outages, more expensive and less energy efficient. There is a similar cumulus data center campus project being considered in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
Placing a data center next to a power plant allows the data center to get its power straight from the source, making it more reliable and efficient. Co-location with Calvert Cliffs would ensure that its significant power demands can be met without straining local resources or infrastructure.
The BOCC supports the data center project proposed by Constellation Energy at Calvert Cliffs. Based on our analysis and discussions with Constellation, the investment in this project could be as high as $10 billion and generate more than $100 million in tax revenue, plus hundreds of high-paying, quality jobs for Marylanders.
Calvert County is home to major energy companies, including Maryland's only nuclear power plant and one of the nation's largest liquid natural gas (LNG) export facilities. This makes Calvert County uniquely positioned to provide an ideal location for a data center; infrastructure is already in place to co-locate with the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, with backup generation provided by the neighboring LNG facility. With approximately 2,000 acres of land at Calvert Cliffs, the data center would be situated discretely within the property’s footprint without direct impact to residents.
The amendments to Senate Bill 1, if passed, will have major implications to our community. When businesses face higher costs or choose to leave, it's not just jobs at risk. It affects the money our community gets through tax revenue, which supports schools, emergency services and more. Industrial partners, such as Calvert Cliffs and the proposed data center, enable us to keep residential tax rates low while providing the services that residents enjoy and come to expect.
If passed, this amendment will likely have a direct and detrimental impact on Calvert County’s economy and future growth, at a time when State funding to our public schools has already been slashed more than $22.5 million without notice or explanation.
Calvert County’s economy depends largely on Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and BHE GT&S Cove Point LNG liquefaction facility. Calvert Cliffs and Cove Point LNG together employ over 1,000 people and infuse tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue annually that funds essential services such as education, school construction, road projects, law enforcement, and fire/rescue services. Calvert Cliffs, part of the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy, provides more than a third of the electricity consumed across the state of Maryland.
The BOCC believes in protecting our residents and ensuring our energy producers can thrive. We are concerned these changes will do the opposite, hurting our community by making living and doing business in Maryland more expensive. Constellation Energy has announced in the Baltimore Business Journal its intent to evaluate its position in Maryland and may choose to invest in other states should the amendment to SB1 pass.
We urge everyone to consider the impact of these amendments and join us in seeking solutions that protect consumers without placing undue financial burden on our residents.
