Wärtsilä secures 790MW Texas data centre deal

Author: Joe Peck

Wärtsilä, a Finnish technology company that manufactures and services power systems, has secured an order to supply a 790MW off-grid power system for a data centre under construction in Texas, USA.

The project will use 42 Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines operating on natural gas to provide primary power for the facility. The order was recorded in the company’s Q2 2026 intake and represents its first data centre-related project in Texas.

The deployment reflects growing demand for power in regions where grid capacity is constrained, particularly as large-scale AI and cloud infrastructure continues to expand.

Wärtsilä’s engine-based system is designed to deliver continuous power without reliance on the grid, supporting early-stage operations while grid connections are developed or where capacity is limited.

Engine-based power for off-grid deployment

The selected engines are capable of operating at full output in high temperatures, which is a key consideration for projects in Texas. The system is also designed to support efficiency and emissions requirements, with a heat rate of approximately 6,800 Btu/kWh.

The modular configuration allows capacity to be scaled as demand increases, while also enabling integration with renewable energy sources where available.

Anders Lindberg, President of Wärtsilä Energy and Executive Vice President of Wärtsilä, comments, “Wärtsilä’s primary power solutions offer significant benefits to data centre developers by providing continuous, reliable primary power while using significantly less water and fuel than traditional alternatives.

“Also, our power solutions ramp up quickly and offer a dependable and sustainable foundation for delivering power availability, which is vital for AI and cloud operators.

“Our modular engine power plants allow easy capacity scale-ups, making them an ideal choice for the fast-growing data centre market.”

Texas continues to attract data centre development due to its access to natural gas resources, established energy infrastructure, and growing renewable generation capacity. Engine-based systems can also be used to support grid balancing once a facility is connected.

Equipment delivery for the project is scheduled for 2028, with full operations expected by late 2029. Wärtsilä has now supplied more than 2.4GW of power capacity to data centre projects across the United States.