Energy

How AI campuses are powered · Sources, management and context · One flagship per model

Power, more than chips or land, now decides where and how fast AI campuses get built. Each page here takes one way of powering or managing a campus, with a flagship site that shows it working, from Entergy's gas plants for Meta to Fervo's geothermal wells for Google.

Index of DatacentersX energy pages: six sources of power, four ways to manage it, and two context pages, each with its flagship example WHERE POWER COMES FROM Grid-TieEntergy for Meta, 2.3 GW Onsite GasColossus turbines NuclearCrane restart, 835 MW Fuel CellsBloom, up to 2.8 GW Solar and WindGoodnight wind, Panhandle GeothermalFervo Cape Station Hydro and ColdQuincy, Washington HOW IT IS MANAGED MicrogridsGW Ranch, 7.65 GW permit Battery StorageColossus, ~3 GWh OrchestrationGoogle, 1 GW flexible Heat ReuseFortum and Microsoft CONTEXT Scaling Energy4.5% of US power now Resource UsagePUE 1.52 average WHEN NEW POWER CAN ARRIVE 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 Fuel cells Nuclear restarts Grid queues clear New turbine slots New reactors
Energy models
11
Context pages
2
US data center share
About 4.5%
Gas turbines
Sold out to 2030
Hub
Energy

Power in

How AI Campuses Get Power

Every Energy page answers one question for one way of powering an AI campus: how fast it arrives, how firm it is, who pays and what it costs the grid.

  • Speed decides most choices. Grid connections take years, new gas turbines are sold out to 2030, and fuel cells arrive in months, so many campuses start on onsite power and connect to the grid later.
  • Firmness decides the rest. Training runs need power around the clock; wind and solar enter through batteries, gas firming or utility contracts.
  • Who pays is the policy fight. Utilities from Louisiana to Ohio now bill data centers for plants built for them; capacity prices in PJM hit their cap three auctions running.

Water and cooling are covered on the Cooling pages.

Energy models

Eleven Ways to Power and Manage an AI Campus

  • Utility grid
  • Onsite gas
  • Nuclear and fuel cells
  • Geothermal and hydro
  • Management
Energy models for AI campuses
PageFlagshipTime to powerFirmnessWhat it shows
Grid-TieEntergy's gas plants for Meta HyperionYears: queues run to 2029 and beyondFirmUtilities now bill data centers for plants built for them
Onsite GasColossus turbines, Memphis and SouthavenMonths for mobile units; 3-5 years for new turbinesFirmFast, but permits and lawsuits follow
NuclearCrane restart for Microsoft2027 for restarts; 2030s for new reactorsFirmOver 10 GW contracted; little arrives before 2027
Hydrogen and Fuel CellsBloom Energy; Data CityMonthsFirmFastest onsite power, on natural gas
Solar and WindGoodnight wind and Crusoe campus, Armstrong County, TXFast where already built; federal credits end for new projectsVariable; needs firmingCampuses move behind West Texas wind farms' meters
GeothermalFervo Cape Station, Utah2026-2030, in the WestFirmGoogle's 396 MW is the largest enhanced geothermal deal
Hydro and Cold ClimateQuincy and Grant County PUDLimited by transmission to 2029Firm, but allocatedCheap dam power is now rationed
MicrogridsGW Ranch, Pecos County, TexasFirst power 2027Firm if built N+XSkips the grid queue, not the air permit
Battery StorageColossus Megapacks, MemphisMonthsHoursSmooths training swings and lets campuses drop off the grid on call
Energy OrchestrationGoogle's 1 GW of flexible loadContract termsCurtailableA little flexibility frees a lot of grid
Heat ReuseMicrosoft and Fortum, Helsinki regionFrom 2027n/aWaste heat sold into district heating

Context

Demand and Efficiency

  • Scaling Data Center Energy: data centers use about 4.5% of US electricity, heading for 9-17% by 2030; queues and capacity prices.
  • Resource Usage (PUE): industry PUE of 1.52 against about 1.1 at hyperscale, rising emissions and new reporting rules.

For Texas sites, see Behind-the-Meter Power on AustinIO.

Record

Dataset Record

Dataset
Index of energy models with flagship sites; data on each linked page
Sources
Listed on each Energy page
Last verified
October 2026