Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has begun planning a new high-voltage transmission substation that will provide power for the first phase of Quantum Frederick, Quantum Loophole's 2100-acre data center campus under development in Frederick, Maryland.
The 230-kV substation will be located near the center of the Quantum Frederick campus and is expected to support the 240 MW of power anticipated for its first phase. The substation yard design will accommodate up to 1000 MW in future phases.
"Potomac Edison is pleased to be a part of this transformational development project that will generate significant economic benefits for the Frederick community and beyond," said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy's Maryland operations. "We have a long history of promoting economic development and helping to attract new jobs to our service area, and we look forward to energizing multiple phases of the Quantum Frederick campus over time."
In support of the project, Potomac Edison plans to reenergize an existing 230-kV transmission line that previously served the property. The company will also install two transformers to convert the high-voltage power from the substation to a lower voltage that can be distributed to Quantum Frederick buildings.
The substation is subject to review by regional transmission organization PJM and its stakeholders, and various components of Potomac Edison's planned work are subject to review and approval by Frederick County and the Maryland Public Service Commission.
In late June, Quantum Loophole broke ground on critical infrastructure supporting the Quantum Frederick development, which is located at the former Alcoa Eastalco industrial property on Manor Woods Road. The master-planned campus will be connected to the Ashburn, Virginia, data center community by a massive fiber network called QLoop, a 40-mile hyperscale fiber ring capable of supporting more than 200,000 strands of fiber.
