“Behind-the-Meter” AI Projects Surge in U.S.
Facing shortages of natural gas turbines, data center developers are using “anything they can get their hands on” to advance artificial intelligence projects quickly, according to a new report (POLITICO’s E&E News, subscription).
What’s going on: The companies’ workaround to the U.S. turbine backlog “includes mobile gas generators strapped to semitrucks and repurposed turbines originally designed for aircraft or cruise ships.”
- In the analysis from data center tracking company Cleanview, “[r]esearchers identified 46 data centers with a combined capacity of roughly 56 gigawatts that plan to build their own power behind the meter, rather than rely on grid electricity from utilities.”
- That’s enough energy to “power five Manhattan-size cities,” according to Cleanview.
Gas first: Most of these “behind-the-meter” projects involve gas rather than renewables, the paper says.
- Most of the renewable capacity data center developers are talking about will come online in 2028 or later, and nuclear power could take even longer.
What it could mean: One energy company CEO “said in December that the AI industry is shifting toward BYOG [‘Bring Your Own Generation’] as energy affordability becomes a bigger issue.”
- Bigger players can—and do—bring in their own power generation infrastructure.
- Some 90% of these endeavors were announced last year and are either under construction or expected to come online soon.
Why it works: “Using mobile gas units is lucrative, considering that data centers can generate $10 million to $12 million per megawatt annually, Cleanview said.”
Data center boomtowns: Many of these projects are cropping up in just five states near large natural gas plays, the report finds.
- “Texas has the most projects, spurred by gas supplies in the Permian Basin, extensive pipeline infrastructure and a regulatory environment that allows a fast build-out of infrastructure. … [And] New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming also are hosting major projects because of adequate gas supplies and conducive policies.”