TeraWulf May Have Misled Investors on Plans to Power Planned Data Center With Natural Gas at Morgantown Power
WASHINGTON — Claims made by TeraWulf to its investors that its two-phase plan to take over and repower Morgantown Power Plant to supply a proposed data center with natural gas power had been “Supported by [Maryland] Governor [Wes] Moore” may violate securities law, according to two new filings today by Public Citizen and Port Tobacco River Conservancy.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Citizen alleges that in a February briefing to investors, executives made an “untrue statement of a material fact” when they cited Governor Moore’s support for the project.
Late last week, Public Citizen held meetings with the Governor’s staff, where they denied support for TeraWulf’s plans to take over the Morgantown Power Plant, and repower two coal fired power generators at the plant.
In a separate filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Citizen and Port Tobacco River Conservancy argue that plans to convert four oil burning power generators to natural gas fueled generators is unfeasible, given there is no supply of natural gas within 20 miles of the facility.
“The closest natural gas transmission line —Berkshire Hathaway’s Eastern Gas4—is 20 miles north of Morgantown,” the groups argue in the complaint. “As the Commission is aware, the Eastern Gas line is already at capacity in this region, serving the CPV St.Charles power facility and Berkshire Hathaway’s Cove Point LNG export terminal.”
“TeraWulf’s proposal to power a hyperscale data center on the Potomac River with natural gas is not only absurdly unrealistic, but its presentation to investors claiming it had the full support of Maryland’s Governor is false,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. “It’s time for FERC and state officials to pull the plug on TeraWulf’s half-baked idea and instead turn to local Charles County residents for a sustainable development path forward for the Morgantown Power site.”
Public Citizen and Tobacco River Conservancy filed a complaint with FERC earlier this month opposing the transfer of four oil generation units at the Morgantown Power site, and arguing that TeraWulf would restart the two coal fired generating units at the facility that had been mothballed.
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