To avoid political backlash and waits of up to four years for a grid connection, tech companies are already building their own power supplies for many new data centers.
About three-quarters of planned generation equipment for data centers is powered by natural gas, according to energy research firm Cleanview, which is tracking 56 gigawatts of projects across the US.
Wednesday’s pledge will see tech companies expand these efforts to prevent higher electricity costs from piling up on customers’ bills.
Josh Price, director of energy and utilities at strategy firm Capstone, said Big Tech is “trying to push back on the narrative that they’re the bad guy.”
But the data center construction boom is already stretching supply chain limits for power generation, making it difficult for companies to meet their commitments to Trump.
Competition for gas turbines is fierce, with wait times of up to seven years for new orders.
Turbine maker GE Vernova said it would expand production by 25 percent, and Mitsubishi Power announced plans to double its output over the next two years. But manufacturers have been cautious about capacity expansion and it may not be enough to meet the growing demand.
According to Global Energy Monitor, two-thirds of gas projects under development in the US have not announced a turbine manufacturer.
Gas turbines have risen sharply in price, and more competition from technology companies will mean higher costs for utilities and industrial customers who also need generation capacity – costs that may still be passed on to ratepayers.
Data centers are increasingly relying on alternatives to address the shortage. Companies including Google and Microsoft have also made deals to reopen nuclear power plants, but these plans will take years to complete.
In the near future companies are using alternatives like reciprocating engines and diesel generators. Experts point out that these power sources, as well as ordinary gas turbines, are not designed to provide the continuous power needed for data centers.
“They say, ‘We have documentary evidence that these can run 90 percent of the time’… but that’s not the average use case,” said Jigar Shah, an energy investor and former Energy Department official.
Keeping these data centers and their power supplies running for decades will also present challenges in securing spare parts and qualified technicians, he said.
Shah said: “The level of incompetence at which data center companies are facing major problems is shocking for a trillion-dollar company.”
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