Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation
- Exponential Industry
- Technology Area
- 29 Milestones
Generation and storage sited at or next to AI/cloud campuses so the load does not wait on a transmission queue. Common stacks pair gas turbines or engines with on-site BESS; some designs add behind-the-meter solar. Hyperscalers and developers announced multi-hundred-megawatt gas+BESS campuses in 2025–2026 to serve rack-scale AI halls.
Exponential Industry · Hidden Factory
Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation
SemiAnalysis Behind-the-Meter Datacenter Power Architectural Study
SemiAnalysis publishes Part 1 of an exhaustive architectural and economic analysis on behind-the-meter generation for AI datacenters, evaluating aeroderivative gas turbine heat rates, ramp profiles, natural gas pipeline capacity, emissions constraints, and interconnection economics /SemiAnalysis/.
xAI Colossus Microgrid and Megapack BESS Deployment
xAI deploys a fleet of mobile aeroderivative gas turbines and Tesla Megapack battery energy storage systems at its Memphis Colossus 100k+ GPU datacenter to buffer volatile training step loads, maintain synthetic inertia, and overcome MLGW utility transformer distribution bottlenecks /X (formerly Twitter)/.
OpenAI Trains GPT-6 Astra on 100K+ NVIDIA Grace Blackwell NVLink72 at Abilene Campus
OpenAI operationalized frontier model GPT-6 Astra, trained across more than 100,000 liquid-cooled NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GB200 NVLink72 GPUs at Crusoe's 1.2 GW Abilene, Texas clean energy campus, marking a milestone in frontier AI scale /X (formerly Twitter)/.
Nebius Group Issues $4.5B in Convertible Senior Notes for AI Data Center Expansion
Nebius Group issued $4.5 billion of convertible senior notes ($2.75B due 2030 and $1.75B due 2034) to fund greenfield AI data center construction and high-density GPU procurement across Europe and the United States /The Next Web/.
Relativity Networks $22M SAFE and $40M hyperscaler ChronoCore order
PR Newswire Aug 19, 2026: Relativity raised a $22M SAFE (Rhapsody, Bell Ventures, Faster Than Glass) and a $40M follow-on from a leading hyperscaler after ChronoCore linked two data centers. With Prysmian, produced a 24-fiber 10 mm hollow-core cable installed in Dura-Line microducts. Claims ~47% faster than glass so campuses can sit farther apart for power (AI Geography Era) /PR Newswire/.
NVIDIA partners with SB Energy to secure PORTS-Pike LPS for OpenAI
Jensen Huang (Aug 17, 2026) announced NVIDIA is partnering with SB Energy to secure land, power and shell at PORTS-Pike in Portsmouth, Ohio, exclusively for NVIDIA compute, with OpenAI as tenant on the DSX stack. Initial 4.25 GW AI-factory capacity; NVIDIA supporting ~4 GW LPS over 20 years; guarantees phase in as sites enter service 2028–2030. OpenAI existing and planned NVIDIA compute ~12 GW through 2030, with a path to ~16 GW if NVIDIA extends PORTS-Pike, representing roughly $600B of NVIDIA compute through 2030. NVIDIA PR adds an option on remaining 3.75 IT-GW /X/ /NVIDIA/.
Amazon acquires GW Ranch for 7.65 GW off-grid AI campus
Amazon confirmed to Cleanview/Distilled on Aug 7, 2026 that it acquired the GW Ranch site in Pecos County and will buy power from the 7.65 GW on-site gas plant Pacifico is developing. Amazon: new on-site generation that will not raise Texas family electricity costs; designed to transition to grid-connected service as interconnection allows. Initially disconnected from ERCOT (35 turbines) /Distilled/ /Data Center Dynamics/.
Siemens commits >$200M for US electrical plants serving data centers
Siemens Aug 7, 2026: >$200M US manufacturing. $185M 550,000 sq ft Pendergrass, GA low-voltage hub for electrical products and distribution equipment for the data-center market (AI and cloud). $19M Grand Prairie, TX site expands switchgear testing/warehousing. >1,500 jobs; hiring Grand Prairie late 2026, Pendergrass 2027. Status is announced investment, not yet operating /Siemens/.
SpaceXAI agrees to remove 69 temporary Southaven turbines
SpaceXAI’s Memphis updates page and TechCrunch (July 31, 2026): an MDEQ agreed order sets a removal timeline for all 69 temporary mobile turbines now powering the Southaven facility. Removal may start August 2026; all temporary units out by July 2027 as the 1.2 GW permanent plant comes online /SpaceXAI/ /TechCrunch/.
Microsoft–Chevron 2.67 GW behind-the-meter PPA for Pecos campus
Microsoft announced a ~2 GW Pecos, Texas campus; Chevron’s Energy Forge One signed a 20-year PPA for a co-located West Texas plant (Project Kilby) expected to deliver about 2.67 GW. Microsoft: at launch the campus operates behind the meter, independently of the public grid. First power expected 2028 /Microsoft Blog/ /Chevron/ /Data Center Dynamics/.
SpaceX discloses $2.8B gas-turbine spend for AI data centers
WIRED, citing SpaceX’s IPO prospectus (Wednesday, May 20, 2026): SpaceX committed more than $2.8 billion in recent months to buy gas turbines for its AI data-center unit. Portable turbines can run without drawing power from the grid. Filing also cited an $805 million turbine deal through 2029 and a pending $2 billion mobile-turbine deal /WIRED/.
Project Jupiter to use Bloom fuel cells as primary power
Oracle and BorderPlex said Project Jupiter in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, will use Bloom Energy fuel cells as its primary power source, up to 2.45 GW, replacing previously planned gas turbines and diesel generators /Data Center Dynamics/.
Oracle expands Bloom SOFC MSA to 2.8 GW
Bloom and Oracle expanded their master services agreement; Oracle intends to procure up to 2.8 GW of Bloom fuel cells, with an initial 1.2 GW contracted and deploying. Bloom said it had delivered a fully operational system to Oracle in 55 days, ahead of a 90-day schedule /Bloom Energy/.
MDEQ issues air permit for 41-turbine Southaven plant
On March 10, 2026 MDEQ issued an air permit for xAI to operate dozens of methane gas turbines at Southaven, Mississippi, to power Colossus 2. SELC described a 41-turbine “personal power plant.” SpaceXAI’s later site update says the 1.2 GW plant has 41 permanent turbines under a CAA permit granted in March 2026 /Southern Environmental Law Center/ /SpaceXAI/.
xAI commits to 1.2 GW on-site plant as Colossus primary power
@SpaceXAI said on March 4, 2026 that xAI is developing a 1.2 GW power plant as the supercomputer’s primary power source, “in addition to all local power,” and is expanding what it called the world’s largest Megapack backup installation /X / @SpaceXAI/.
VoltaGrid orders 1.5 GW of INNIO engines for data-center BTM
INNIO announced Feb 11, 2026 an additional 1.5 GW order from VoltaGrid for behind-the-meter (on-site) generation for AI and HPC data centers. 300 Jenbacher J624/J620 engines in 25 MW QPac units; delivery by 2028 /INNIO/.
TCEQ air permit for 7.65 GW GW Ranch private-grid campus
Pacifico announced Jan 26, 2026 that TCEQ issued an air permit for 7.65 GW of gas-fired generation at GW Ranch in Pecos County—the largest such permit granted in the United States. Campus is private-grid (not ERCOT); also 1.8 GW BESS and 750 MWac solar; Phase 1 1 GW, first power H1-2027 /Pacifico Energy/ /Data Center Dynamics/.
Laramie County approves Project Jade with 2.7 GW on-site generation
Laramie County Commission unanimously approved site plans for Crusoe’s Project Jade campus and Tallgrass’s BFC Power / Cheyenne Power Hub on Jan 6, 2026. Cowboy State Daily: Tallgrass would build up to 2.7 GW of on-site gas turbines and fuel cells; Crusoe called it bring-your-own-power so as not to draw on local utility infrastructure /Cowboy State Daily/.
Fermi America NRC Combined License Application (COLA) acceptance
The US NRC accepted for review Fermi America's Combined License Application (COLA) for four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Project Matador in Carson County, TX /American Nuclear Society (ANS) Nuclear News/.
Pacifico unveils 5 GW off-grid GW Ranch for hyperscale data centers
DCD (Aug 21, 2025): Pacifico revealed a 5 GW off-grid gas-and-storage campus in Pecos County, Texas, purpose-built for hyperscale data centers. Totally off-grid; 1 GW targeted by 2028 and 5 GW by 2030; 1.8 GW storage; TCEQ permitting already initiated /Data Center Dynamics/.
Equinix expands Bloom SOFCs to 100 MW+ across 19 sites
Equinix announced it will expand Bloom Energy solid-oxide fuel cells to more than 100 MW at over 19 data centers in six states for onsite power. The same release said Equinix was the first data-center operator to sign an SMR deal (500 MW from Oklo Aurora, in 2024) and has used fuel cells for more than 10 years /Equinix/.
Bloom to deploy SOFCs at Oracle OCI data centers (90-day energize)
Bloom Energy announced it will deploy fuel cells at select Oracle Cloud Infrastructure data centers in the U.S., saying it can deliver onsite power for an entire data center within 90 days. Bloom said it had already deployed over 400 MW to data centers worldwide /Bloom Energy/.
Crusoe–Tallgrass announce 1.8 GW Wyoming AI campus, scalable to 10 GW
Crusoe and Tallgrass announced a 1.8 GW AI data-center campus in southeast Wyoming designed to scale to 10 GW. Power strategy is on-site natural gas (later specified as Cheyenne Power Hub / BFC Power) /Crusoe/ /Tallgrass/.
Shelby County permits 15 xAI gas turbines at Colossus 1
Shelby County Health Department approved an air permit on July 2, 2025 for 15 gas turbines at xAI’s Paul R. Lowry Road campus in South Memphis. xAI said onsite generation would use “state-of-the-art emissions control technology.” Tennessee Lookout later reported an NAACP appeal of the permit and of the county’s “nonroad engine” treatment of other temporary turbines /Tennessee Lookout/ /Southern Environmental Law Center/.
Talen–Amazon 1,920 MW Susquehanna nuclear PPA through 2042
Talen expanded its Amazon relationship to a 1,920 MW nuclear PPA from Susquehanna through 2042. The original co-located (behind-the-meter) load arrangement is to become front-of-the-meter after transmission work in spring 2026. The parties will also explore SMRs and plant uprates in Pennsylvania /Talen Energy/.
Ohio approves Williams 200 MW BTM gas plant for Meta New Albany
Ohio Power Siting Board authorized the 200 MW Socrates South gas plant in New Albany / Licking County. It will operate behind-the-meter for a Meta affiliate (Sidecat) data center and will not be physically connected to the electric grid. Williams subsidiary Will-Power OH builds and operates it /Ohio Power Siting Board/.
AEP–Bloom 1 GW SOFC procurement for data-center load
AEP announced an agreement to secure up to 1 GW of Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cells for data centers and other large customers that need power while the grid is built out. Customer-sited units are designed not to send energy back to the grid /American Electric Power/.
Constellation–Microsoft 20-year PPA to restart TMI Unit 1 (Crane CCEC)
20-year PPA with Microsoft; TMI Unit 1 restart as Crane Clean Energy Center; expected online 2028 /Constellation Energy/.
AWS buys Talen Cumulus nuclear-adjacent campus ($650M)
Talen sold the 960 MW Cumulus data-center campus next to Susquehanna nuclear plant to AWS for $650 million (investor presentation March 4, 2024), with a 10-year PPA from the plant ramping in 120 MW steps and a one-time option to cap at 480 MW /POWER Magazine/.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation and what industrial engineering problems does it address?
Generation and storage sited at or next to AI/cloud campuses so the load does not wait on a transmission queue. Common stacks pair gas turbines or engines with on-site BESS; some designs add behind-the-meter solar. Hyperscalers and developers announced multi-hundred-megawatt gas+BESS campuses in 2025–2026 to serve rack-scale AI halls.
What core technologies and manufacturing architectures comprise Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation?
Key technical architectures and manufacturing innovations include:
- Behind-the-Meter Datacenter Microgrid: Dedicated on-site power generation and storage topology installed directly behind the utility meter to supply multi-hundred-megawatt AI datacenter loads. Combines fast-start aeroderivative gas turbines, reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE), and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to bypass 4-to-7-year utility transmission queue delays and run independent of or in sync with local distribution networks.
- Bloom Energy Server: Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system that generates on-site electricity from natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen without combustion. Deployed as behind-the-meter power for data centers; Bloom says an entire data-center block can be energized in 90 days (55 days on one Oracle site).
- GW Ranch private-grid campus: Private-grid (off-ERCOT) power campus in Pecos County, Texas, purpose-built for hyperscale data centers. TCEQ air permit for 7.65 GW gas-fired generation plus 1.8 GW BESS and 750 MWac solar. Phase 1 1 GW, first power H1-2027. Pacifico called it the largest power-generation permit granted in the United States; the campus operates independently from the electricity grid. Aug 2026: Amazon confirmed it acquired the site and will buy on-site generation from the plant.
- Colossus mobile gas-turbine BTM fleet: Trailer-mounted natural-gas turbines used as behind-the-meter generation for xAI Colossus campuses in Memphis, Tennessee, and Southaven, Mississippi. Official SpaceXAI update says 69 temporary mobile turbines currently power the Southaven facility under an MDEQ agreed order to remove them by July 2027 as a 1.2 GW permanent plant comes online.
- Socrates South BTM gas plant (New Albany): 200 MW behind-the-meter natural-gas generation facility in New Albany / Licking County, Ohio. OPSB June 9, 2025: will serve an adjacent Meta-affiliate (Sidecat) data center and will not be physically connected to the electric power grid. Williams (Will-Power OH) builds and operates.
- Project Kilby co-located gas plant: Co-located natural-gas generation in West Texas (Project Kilby / Energy Forge One) dedicated to a Microsoft data-center campus. Chevron PR: ~2.67 GW phased modular buildout (GE Vernova plus Solar Turbines). Microsoft: at launch the campus operates behind the meter, serving the campus directly and independently of the public grid. DCD: up to 2.67 GW behind the meter for a ~2 GW Pecos campus.
Which companies and industrial facilities lead deployment in Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation?
Leading industrial manufacturers, hyperscalers, and engineering operators include:
- xAI: xAI Colossus Microgrid and Megapack BESS Deployment (Sep 10, 2026) — xAI deploys a fleet of mobile aeroderivative gas turbines and Tesla Megapack battery energy storage systems at its Memphis Colossus 100k+ GPU datacenter to buffer volatile training step loads, maintain synthetic inertia, and overcome MLGW utility transformer distribution bottlenecks.
- Pacifico Energy: TCEQ air permit for 7.65 GW GW Ranch private-grid campus (Jan 26, 2026) — GW Ranch has received its Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air permit for 7.65 GW of gas-fired power generation, the largest permit granted in the United States of America.
- Crusoe: OpenAI Trains GPT-6 Astra on 100K+ NVIDIA Grace Blackwell NVLink72 at Abilene Campus (Sep 1, 2026) — GPT-6 Astra, trained on ~100K+ NVIDIA Grace Blackwell NVLink72. From ChatGPT to o1 to Astra in 4 years. AGI has arrived. Congratulations @OpenAI team. 400K GPUs coming online next. Congratulations to our friends at @OpenAI! I guess this makes Abilene the birthplace of AGI!
- Bloom Energy: Oracle expands Bloom SOFC MSA to 2.8 GW (Apr 13, 2026) — Under a master services agreement, Oracle intends to procure up to 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of Bloom’s fuel cell systems.
- OpenAI: NVIDIA partners with SB Energy to secure PORTS-Pike LPS for OpenAI (Aug 17, 2026) — Today, we are partnering with SB Energy to secure LPS capacity at the exceptional PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Portsmouth, Ohio, to host NVIDIA compute. OpenAI will be the tenant.
- Amazon: Talen–Amazon 1,920 MW Susquehanna nuclear PPA through 2042 (Jun 11, 2025) — Under the expanded PPA, at the full contract quantity, Talen will provide Amazon with 1,920 megawatts of carbon-free nuclear power through 2042, with options to further extend its duration.
What are key commercial projects and milestone achievements in Data Center Power & Behind-the-Meter Generation?
Major industrial breakthroughs and commercial milestones include:
- Talen–Amazon 1,920 MW Susquehanna nuclear PPA through 2042 (Jun 11, 2025): Under the expanded PPA, at the full contract quantity, Talen will provide Amazon with 1,920 megawatts of carbon-free nuclear power through 2042, with options to further extend its duration.
- Fermi America NRC Combined License Application (COLA) acceptance (Sep 10, 2025): Fermi America submitted a Combined License Application (COLA) accepted by the NRC for Project Matador, a multi-gigawatt energy campus in Carson County, Texas, featuring four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors.
- TCEQ air permit for 7.65 GW GW Ranch private-grid campus (Jan 26, 2026): GW Ranch has received its Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air permit for 7.65 GW of gas-fired power generation, the largest permit granted in the United States of America.
- Microsoft–Chevron 2.67 GW behind-the-meter PPA for Pecos campus (Jun 22, 2026): In Pecos, Texas, we will build a new datacenter campus, expanding our global datacenter capacity by approximately 2 gigawatts (GW) to meet strong and sustained customer demand for AI and cloud services. We expect to support over 6,000 construction jobs at peak build-out and to create hundreds of permanent operational jobs. This multibillion-dollar datacenter campus investment over the next five to seven years reflects both the immediate needs we are seeing today and the future trajectory of AI and advanced compute.
- OpenAI Trains GPT-6 Astra on 100K+ NVIDIA Grace Blackwell NVLink72 at Abilene Campus (Sep 1, 2026): GPT-6 Astra, trained on ~100K+ NVIDIA Grace Blackwell NVLink72. From ChatGPT to o1 to Astra in 4 years. AGI has arrived. Congratulations @OpenAI team. 400K GPUs coming online next. Congratulations to our friends at @OpenAI! I guess this makes Abilene the birthplace of AGI!
- xAI Colossus Microgrid and Megapack BESS Deployment (Sep 10, 2026): xAI deploys a fleet of mobile aeroderivative gas turbines and Tesla Megapack battery energy storage systems at its Memphis Colossus 100k+ GPU datacenter to buffer volatile training step loads, maintain synthetic inertia, and overcome MLGW utility transformer distribution bottlenecks.
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