Summary
- Baker Hughes will supply gas turbines and generators under a multi-year framework with Kodiak.
- The agreement provides a pathway for up to 1.8GW of generation, with about 1GW expected by 2030.
- The deal is US-focused but reflects a wider shift towards dedicated power where grid delivery lags demand.
Baker Hughes and Kodiak Gas Services have agreed a multi-year gas turbine framework intended to support behind-the-meter power generation for US data centre growth.
The agreement establishes a pathway for up to 1.8GW of power generation capacity over time. An initial major award covers about 1GW of gas turbines and generators to be delivered by 2030, including NovaLT16 gas turbines, Frame 5 gas turbines, and BRUSH Power Generation generators.
The companies are targeting markets where accelerating electricity demand and grid constraints are increasing the need for flexible, rapidly deployable power infrastructure. The framework also includes technical training, spare parts, and an interest in a longer-term services arrangement for the equipment.
Behind-the-meter power enters the mainstream
The deal is US-based, but the underlying issue is global. Data centre developers are increasingly testing power strategies that sit outside the conventional sequence of land acquisition, grid application, utility connection, and facility energisation.
Where grid timelines stretch beyond customer demand, developers are looking at dedicated generation, microgrids, battery systems, staged power solutions, and more active participation in energy infrastructure. The power strategy is moving upstream into site selection, financing, construction scheduling, and customer commitments.
Gas turbines are one of the more direct answers to the problem of firm power. They can provide large-scale generation on a shorter timeline than some network reinforcements, but they also bring emissions, fuel supply, permitting, noise, and community acceptance issues.
The commercial attraction is straightforward: an AI campus without power is not capacity. Developers able to secure generation equipment, electrical integration, and fuel supply may be able to de-risk delivery in markets where grid connections are uncertain or distant.
Equipment supply becomes strategic
The Baker Hughes-Kodiak framework is also a supply-chain story. Turbines, generators, transformers, switchgear, and electrical balance-of-plant are all facing stronger demand as data centre loads rise. A multi-year supply route can reduce uncertainty for developers planning phased campuses.
European markets are not identical to the US. Gas-fired behind-the-meter generation would face different planning, carbon, and local environmental scrutiny in many European jurisdictions. Even so, the constraint is familiar: large digital loads need firm power faster than grids can always provide it.
In the UK and parts of continental Europe, developers are already dealing with connection dates that sit years into the future. Some projects are considering interim power approaches, on-site generation, or hybrid strategies that allow initial phases to operate before full grid capacity is available.
The environmental trade-off will be difficult. Hyperscalers and colocation operators are under pressure to reduce emissions, increase renewable procurement, and meet reporting obligations. Gas turbines can support delivery and resilience, but they can also sharpen scrutiny over carbon intensity, air quality, and consistency with net-zero commitments.
That tension is becoming part of the sector’s planning conversation. AI demand is pulling data centres towards faster and larger power commitments, while policy frameworks are moving towards stricter energy and emissions transparency. A behind-the-meter system can solve a connection problem while creating a compliance and reputational problem if the long-term decarbonisation pathway is weak.
The framework’s scale is the striking element. A pathway to 1.8GW is comparable to the power requirement of several very large campuses. It shows energy equipment suppliers treating data centres as a core growth market for distributed power infrastructure.
The lesson for European development is less about one fuel or technology and more about project sequencing. Data centre operators are no longer simply buying electricity from the grid. In constrained markets, they are increasingly drawn into the design of the power systems that allow capacity to exist.
