Jackson Jambalaya

 Prado AI submitted this response to yesterday's column by Bigger Pie Forum Chairman Kelly Williams. 

As the developer, owner, and operator of an advanced AI industrial campus and a proponent for a transformative option for AI industrial development, Prado AI Industrial, LLC is committed both to open public discussion and to regulatory compliance. That public discussion, however, must be rooted in the truth. While Mr. Williams and Bigger Pie Forum are welcome to their opinion and have the right to share that opinion, Prado AI felt it necessary to respond to clarify the factual misstatements and false assumptions made in Mr. Williams’ column.

From the start, the column claims that Prado AI will be “accountable to no one.” That statement ignores the reality that Prado AI’s industrial campus must and will comply with City’s local ordinances and approval process. It also ignores that the private, on-site power generation facility will be subject to permit approval and regulation by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Prado AI’s on-site power generation for internal use by other buildings on Prado AI’s industrial campus is not unique in Mississippi. Other industries have used this model for decades, including for large-scale power generation.

The Prado AI industrial campus will be fully permitted. It will be designed to be environmentally responsible and will make use of efficient power systems to ensure long- term sustainability and reliability. Prado AI is not interested in stopgap power solutions relying on temporary generators. Prado AI is committed to permanent, environmentally sound AI industrial infrastructure. Prado AI and its founder are members of the metro Jackson community and are committed to doing it right from day one, with reliability, sustainability, and community impact in mind.

More egregiously, the column claims Prado AI’s on-site power plant will be connected to the grid for auxiliary power. This is false. As Prado AI stated in its Request to the PSC, in responses to data requests from Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power, and in its brief in support of its Request, the proposed power generation plant will not interconnect to the existing power grid. That facility will provide power solely and exclusively to the data center and semiconductor fabrication facilities.

While Mr. Williams recommends that the PSC should put Prado AI “on notice that any future grid interconnection goes through the MISO process,” that recommendation has nothing to do with Prado AI’s current request for regulatory clarity. The MISO generator interconnection process is used to review and approve addition of new power sources and to manage phasing out power sources. That process does not apply where private power generation is used solely to provide power for internal use on an industrial campus. This arrangement already exists throughout the State of Mississippi. Private, on-site power generation facilities are already some of the largest power plants in Mississippi, and they are not regulated by the PSC.

Prado AI has been clear. The on-site power generation facility will not interconnect with the grid. Off-grid means off-grid. Any statement to the contrary is untrue.

This model for self-generation protects Mississippi consumers. It ensures that Prado AI bears the cost of generating power and that those costs are not passed on to Mississippi ratepayers. Mississippians should not have to subsidize the infrastructure needed to power AI industrial facilities. Prado AI’s model for on-site power generation ensures that they do not have to choose between subsidizing big business and missing out of billions of dollars in AI industrial investment.

Finally, Prado AI is not trying to sneak through the front door. We sought legal and regulatory clarity from the Public Service Commission precisely for this point. Prado AI will comply with all appropriate regulations and will go through all required approvals at the city, county, and state level.

Prado AI looks forward to the PSC’s decision. The Commission is committed to protecting Mississippi ratepayers. Once the Commission provides the requested regulatory clarity, Prado AI is excited to move forward responsibly with this innovative project.