The Daily Dig:
Wärtsilä has been awarded an order to supply 429MW of power generation capacity for a U.S. power plant serving electricity demand driven by data center development. The project will use 24 Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines.
The company states the power plant will be owned and operated by an investor-owned utility and is intended to support reliability and capacity needs associated with large data center loads. Wärtsilä confirmed the order was booked in the first quarter of 2026.
Snapshot:
Owner / Developer: Investor-owned utility (name not disclosed)
Sector: Power generation supporting data center demand
Value / Financing: Not disclosed
Location: United States (specific location not disclosed)
Equipment: 24 Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines
Total Capacity: 429MW
Timeline / Status: Order booked Q1 2026; commercial operations planned for late 2028 to early 2029
TheJobWalk Thoughts:
This announcement shows utilities are moving quickly on generation projects tied to data center growth. They're making long lead equipment decisions well before project details go public. Commercial operations are still years away, so the construction and delivery picture hasn't come into focus yet. For contractors, supplier awards like this are often the first sign of a power project that will become clearer as permitting, siting, and procurement move forward.
