CPV Shay Energy Center (2031 target delivery) is being developed to relieve power supply constraints in PJM (US east-coast power market), supporting Northeast data center buildout.
The largest U.S. grid system operator will face persistent capacity challenges from fast-growing data centers and artificial intelligence load through the early 2030s. Relief is coming in the form of a massive West Virginia gas-fired power plant: Competitive Power Ventures announced this week that it has secured a 10-year natural gas supply agreement for the 2.1-GW CPV Shay Energy Center. Construction begins next year, with completion targeted for 2031. The combined cycle gas turbine plant, located in Doddridge County, will deliver wholesale electricity directly into the PJM Interconnection Grid, which serves 13 states across the eastern U.S.
PJM anticipates that data centers, AI factories, and other large industrial loads will add as much as 70 GW of new electricity demand by the mid- to late 2030s. In its 2028-2029 capacity auction, the independent system operator procured close to 150 GW of power commitment—a stretch for an interconnection serving more than 60 million customers and hundreds of data center loads. PJM leadership has warned that secured grid capacity fell short of expectations and could reduce the installed reserve margin to below 15%, five percentage points below the desired 20% needed to protect against extreme peak events or crises. Northern Virginia, where data center density is highest in the U.S., falls within PJM's territory.
The Shay Energy Center will arrive two years after that critical 2029 window but should substantially strengthen PJM's generation capacity. CPV will be supplied through a power setback gas sale agreement with EQT Corp. The $3 billion plant will burn approximately 100 billion cubic feet of gas annually—substantial, yet modest compared to the 9 trillion cubic feet produced yearly in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale beneath West Virginia and Appalachia.
"This is a strong partnership and sets the foundation for the project's commercialization," said Peter Podurgiel, President of CPV. "Since first announcing our plans to develop CPV Shay, we have understood the critical need for new generation that continues to increase in the PJM region. Together with EQT, we will be able to provide dispatchable generation to help support a responsible energy transition in an area with increasing power demands."
The Utica Shale, underlying the same region at different depths than the Marcellus formation, raises Appalachia's total gas production to approximately 33 billion cubic feet per day, or close to 12 trillion cubic feet annually, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Under the agreement, EQT will cover all of Shay's anticipated gas consumption. EQT owns and manages close to 2 million net acres of natural gas production and midstream assets in the Appalachian Basin, including West Virginia, and holds about 27.6 trillion cubic feet of proved reserves within the Marcellus Shale.
Gas-fired generation reduces carbon dioxide emissions compared with historical coal-fired power and can efficiently meet data center loads. Grid operators and utilities have struggled to keep pace with advancing data center capacity after close to a decade of flat load growth.
"Partnerships like this demonstrate what's possible when producers and power generators work together to meet America's growing energy needs," said EQT President and CEO Toby Z. Rice. "We look forward to working alongside CPV to help deliver affordable, reliable energy for years to come, while advancing our shared commitment to fostering new, lower-carbon generation technologies."
The "speed-to-power" push for accelerated generation development increasingly leverages vast U.S. natural gas resources to expand flexible electricity generation quickly and meet data center growth. While many developers are adding battery storage, solar, and planning for future small modular reactor nuclear plants, the availability and timing of natural gas connections are dominating current power generation build-out plans.
The CPV Shay Energy Center will feature three 1x1 combined cycle configurations using GE Vernova's 7HA.03 gas turbines with carbon capture technologies to reduce emissions. CPV has built multiple gas-fired, solar, and wind energy projects across the nation and is owned by Israeli-based OPC Energy.