$100 Million In Taxpayer Money? Public Citizen Demands TeraWulf Reveal Morgantown Power Plant Deal

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. — Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit watchdog organization, is asking federal regulators to force disclosure of what TeraWulf paid for the Morgantown Generating Station, arguing the company’s effort to keep the purchase price confidential is unjustified and that taxpayers could have a stake in the deal.

In a June 4 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Citizen argued the purchase price for the Newburg power plant should be made public. The organization cited what it described as nonpublic communications between TeraWulf’s CEO and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, stating that “TeraWulf is seeking $100 million in taxpayer money to help cover costs associated with the Morgantown acquisition.” Portions of the discussion remain redacted in the filing. Public Citizen argued the possibility of public funding further supports disclosure of the purchase price.

Public Citizen is asking FERC to reject TeraWulf’s claim that the purchase price qualifies as confidential commercial information protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and to release the information under federal regulations.

Public Citizen also argues that power plant purchase prices are routinely disclosed in similar transactions across the PJM Interconnection region.

The group cited several recent deals involving power plants and data center development projects in which buyers publicly disclosed acquisition prices ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, including transactions involving DigitalBridge, LS Power, Blackstone and other energy companies.

The filing also argues that FOIA’s 2016 amendments require parties seeking confidentiality to demonstrate that disclosure would cause foreseeable commercial or financial harm. Public Citizen contends TeraWulf has not met that standard, particularly given the number of comparable transactions that have been publicly disclosed.

Morgantown’s History Of Publicly Reported Sales

According to the filing, previous sales of the Morgantown facility were publicly reported. Public Citizen noted that when Pepco sold the station and other generation assets in 2000, the reported transaction value was $2.75 billion. The group also pointed to NRG’s acquisition of Morgantown and GenOn in 2017, which was publicly reported at $1.7 billion.

Public Citizen argues that the facility’s history of public transaction disclosures — spanning more than 25 years — directly undermines claims that the current purchase price should remain confidential.

Questions About Future Natural Gas Plans

The filing also focuses on TeraWulf’s plans to convert the oil-fired facility to natural gas generation while developing data center infrastructure at the site.

Public Citizen argues that supplying natural gas to the facility could require significant new infrastructure. In its earlier March protest filing in the same docket, the group contended the closest transmission line — Berkshire Hathaway’s Eastern Gas, approximately 20 miles north of the site — is already at capacity, serving the CPV St. Charles power facility and Berkshire Hathaway’s Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Calvert County.

Public Citizen’s June 4 motion outlined several possible scenarios it contends TeraWulf would need to pursue, including a new pipeline connection along the existing CSX rail right-of-way through Charles County, use of the former Piney Point pipeline corridor running east under the Wicomico River, or an onsite liquefied natural gas facility at Morgantown. The filing argues those proposed changes would fundamentally alter the facility, making any confidentiality claim surrounding the purchase price less relevant.

Public Citizen also raised concerns about a potential LNG shipping route on the Potomac River in its March filing, arguing such a scenario could raise security questions because of the proximity to Naval Support Facility Dahlgren in Virginia, directly across the river from the site.

TeraWulf has not publicly confirmed any of the specific pipeline or LNG options discussed in Public Citizen’s filings.

A Deal Under Growing Scrutiny

TeraWulf filed its application with FERC in February 2026 to acquire the Morgantown Generating Station from GenOn. The facility currently consists of four oil-fired generating units at the Newburg site. TeraWulf has outlined plans to expand the property into a power generation and data center campus capable of supporting up to 1 gigawatt of capacity, with an initial phase targeting approximately 500 megawatts of generation and battery storage.

The transaction has drawn opposition from multiple parties, including Public Citizen, the NAACP, the Port Tobacco River Conservancy, PJM’s independent market monitor, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel and the Sierra Club.

Public Citizen, the NAACP and the Port Tobacco River Conservancy have separately challenged the application, arguing GenOn failed to disclose Google’s ownership interest in TeraWulf. Consumer advocates and environmental groups have also raised concerns about reliability, environmental impacts and the future use of the site.

What’s Next

The June 4 motion is the latest filing in the ongoing FERC review of the proposed acquisition. FERC must determine whether the transaction meets the public interest requirements under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act and whether the purchase price information should remain confidential. TeraWulf originally asked FERC to approve the acquisition by April 2, 2026 — a deadline that passed without a decision.

A ruling is likely by July or August 2026, depending on whether the commission first issues a deficiency letter, according to Public Citizen’s April 20 campaign overview. FERC has not announced an official timeline.

Learn More & Key Documents

Below: Public Citizen’s June 4 FERC filing in Docket EC26-58 on page 3 shows the group’s claim that TeraWulf seeks $100 million in taxpayer funding related to the Morgantown acquisition.

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