Data Centers Drive Record Surge in GE Vernova Power Equipment Orders as Turbine Slots Tighten Through 2030
Data centers generated $2.4 bn of GE Vernova electrification orders in Q1 2026, outpacing the entire 2025 year. Total electrification orders doubled year‑over‑year to $7.1 bn, while gas turbine contracts grew to 100 GW, with 20% linked to data‑center load. The company’s 2030 turbine slots are nearly sold out, leaving only about 10 GW of capacity through 2029‑30. GE Vernova plans to lift annualized output to 20 GW by Q3 2026 and add 1,800 U.S. workers.
Data Centers as Dynamic Grid Assets? New Jersey Site Using Solar and Storage for Flexibility
Calibrant Energy has signed a definitive agreement to build, own, and operate a 23 MWh battery energy storage system at Iron Mountain’s NJE‑1 data center in Edison, New Jersey. The storage unit pairs with the facility’s existing 7.2 MW rooftop solar array,...
Hydropower Expected to Bounce Back From the West’s Snow Drought
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects hydropower generation to rise 5% in 2026, reaching 259 billion kilowatt‑hours (BkWh) and accounting for roughly 6% of total electricity. While output will still sit 1.8% below the ten‑year average because of lingering snow‑drought...
Kentucky Is Getting Its First Pumped Storage Hydropower Project for $1.3B
Kentucky is set to launch its first pumped‑storage hydropower facility, a $1.3 billion venture aimed at bolstering grid reliability. The project will deliver roughly 1 GW of reversible generation, enabling large‑scale energy storage for renewable integration. Backed by a public‑private partnership, the...
Data Center Power Crunch Lifts Engines, Aeroderivatives Into Larger Role
Recent procurement announcements reveal a rapid shift of reciprocating engines and aeroderivative turbines from backup to primary power at hyperscale data centers. Wärtsilä secured a 412 MW order for its 34SG engines in Ohio, while PROENERGY will supply 650 MW of 50 MW...
ANDRITZ Lands Contract to Modernize NYPA’s Niagara Hydropower Plant
The New York Power Authority awarded ANDRITZ a contract to design, build and deliver five new 215 MVA generator stators for the Robert Moses Power Plant, part of the Niagara Power Project. The stators will replace several of the plant’s 13...
Ramping Up for POWERGEN 2027 and the 44th Annual Electric Utility & Cogeneration Chemistry Workshop
POWERGEN 2027 in Salt Lake City will spotlight the power sector’s response to soaring data‑center electricity demand, with gas‑fired simple‑cycle and combined‑cycle plants leading short‑term builds. The conference will also explore emerging fuels such as hydrogen, the rise of small...
EPRI Launches New Large Load Framework to Reduce Time to Power for Data Centers
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has introduced Flex MOSAIC, a voluntary framework that classifies flexibility of large electric loads such as data centers. Developed with more than 65 utilities, system operators, regulators, hyperscalers and technology firms, the scheme defines...
POWERGEN 2027 Call for Content Is Open: Share What You’ve Built, Fixed and Learned
POWERGEN has opened its Call for Content for the 2027 conference, inviting engineers, plant managers, developers and executives to submit case studies and lessons learned by May 18, 2025. The event, scheduled for Jan 18‑21, 2027 in Salt Lake City, seeks practical, non‑commercial presentations...
AI Data Centers and Power Generation: What Gear Drive Companies Need to Know
AI‑driven data centers are now consuming roughly 60% of their electricity from servers, driving a surge in overall power demand. Grid expansion lags behind, prompting operators to adopt hybrid solutions that blend grid supply, long‑term renewable contracts, battery storage, and...
Caterpillar Engines to Support 2 GW of Onsite Power at West Virginia Data Center Campus Tied to Microsoft, NVIDIA
Caterpillar will supply its G3500 natural‑gas generator platform to provide up to 2 GW of onsite power for the Monarch Compute Campus in West Virginia. The campus, owned by Nscale and linked to Microsoft’s AI workloads and NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin systems,...
Nova Scotia Shoots for a Renewable Grid by 2030
Nova Scotia has pledged to source 80% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, driving a massive build‑out of wind and solar capacity. The province will retire its remaining coal plants while keeping gas turbines operational to provide rotating inertia,...
Conversations Reshaping the Grid: Registration Opens for 2026 DTECH Data Centers & AI Event
Registration is now open for the 2026 DTECH Data Centers & AI conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, scheduled for May 12‑14. The event will gather utilities, engineers, and technology providers to address the rapid megawatt‑to‑gigawatt load growth driven by hyperscale data...
Alabama Power Installs Tesla Megapacks at Former Coal Plant Site for State’s First BESS Project
Alabama Power has installed Tesla Megapacks at the former Plant Scherer coal site, creating Alabama’s first utility‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS). The 100‑MW/400‑MWh installation marks a major step in repurposing retired fossil‑fuel assets for clean‑energy resilience. At the same...
Keeping Cool: CHP Systems and Absorption Chillers Are a Winning Combo for Data Center Developers
Data center demand is exploding as AI and cloud workloads grow, putting pressure on power and cooling infrastructure. Microgrids that pair Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems with absorption chillers shift cooling loads from electricity to waste heat, dramatically lowering...