TeraWulf wins regulatory approval to purchase a retired Maryland power plant, pivoting from bitcoin mining to grid-connected AI data center operations at utility scale.

Federal regulators approved TeraWulf's acquisition of the Morgantown Generating Station, a former coal plant in Charles County, Maryland. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found the purchase "consistent with the public interest" in an order issued today.

The Easton-based data center infrastructure company plans to convert the facility to natural gas, eventually supporting 1,000 megawatts of capacity to power a potential data center campus. The deal marks TeraWulf's first Maryland purchase, adding to sites it already owns in New York and Texas.

The approval does not resolve the project's most contentious issues. Future data center construction, behind-the-meter power sales, and changes to the plant's role in the regional PJM energy market will require separate regulatory review.

The decision faced months of opposition from environmental groups, consumer advocates, and energy market watchdogs. The PJM Independent Market Monitor and Maryland's Office of People's Counsel argued that TeraWulf could remove the plant's generating capacity from the PJM market, potentially raising electricity rates. FERC rejected these arguments, ruling that the acquisition itself creates no competitive concerns and that future operational changes belong in separate proceedings.

Opponents also challenged the application on procedural grounds. In April, Public Citizen, the NAACP, and the Port Tobacco River Conservancy asked FERC to dismiss the filing, citing Google's roughly 14% equity stake in TeraWulf and alleging that this relationship was not adequately disclosed. FERC dismissed the challenge, agreeing with TeraWulf that Google's stake does not grant the company ownership or control.

TeraWulf's pivot reflects a broader industry shift away from cryptocurrency mining toward AI data centers as mining revenue becomes increasingly volatile. "Development and reinvestment at the Morgantown site are expected to occur incrementally and in close coordination with state and local stakeholders," said Kerri Langlais, chief strategy officer at TeraWulf, "with a focus on modernizing infrastructure, incorporating appropriate environmental mitigation and remediation, and preserving the site's role as a productive and reliable energy asset."