Bypassing the Grid: How Data Centers Are Building Their Own Power Plants

Executive summary

In recent years, the time to connect a data center to the power grid has grown significantly. In response, many data center developers are choosing to build their own power plants and avoid the grid—or connect later.

In what we believe is the most comprehensive analysis of this trend to date, we identified 46 data centers with a combined capacity of 56 GW that plan to build their own power "behind-the-meter." That represents roughly 30% of all planned data center capacity in the United States, according to Cleanview's project tracker.

In the last year, this trend has gone from niche to mainstream. 90% of the projects we identified—representing approximately 50 GW—were announced in 2025 alone. A year ago, behind-the-meter data center power was a curiosity, embodied by xAI's controversial decision to truck mobile generators into Memphis. Now it's an increasingly common development strategy.

Many of these projects are coming online soon

When we began this research, we were skeptical of many of these projects—as all analysts should be. Data center developers often pursue multiple projects with the intention of only building one (the "phantom project" phenomenon). Turbine manufacturers have said lead times for their equipment now stretch as long as 5-7 years. Local opposition to data centers is rising.

But we think much of this capacity is likely to come online soon. Many of the projects we identified are already under construction—in some cases with crews working through the night. Many of those that aren't under construction have been permitted and have placed equipment orders.

We were able to identify specific equipment deals at approximately two-thirds of the projects we tracked—commitments to manufacturers like GE Vernova, Caterpillar, Siemens, and Doosan that signal serious intent.

Data center developers are using anything they can get their hands on

The equipment being deployed is not what utilities typically buy to generate power. Heavy-duty combined-cycle gas turbines—the most efficient option for baseload power—have long lead times and are largely unavailable. Data center developers are instead turning to:

• Mobile gas generators strapped to semitrucks
• Aeroderivative turbines originally designed for aircraft and warships
• Reciprocating engines that ramp fast, but are less efficient
• Refurbished turbines acquired from industrial operations

In our research, we came across a company that typically sells cruise ship engines that struck a deal to power a data center. One developer, unable to secure enough conventional turbines, placed a $1.25 billion order with Boom Supersonic—a company that has never sold a power generation product. Elon Musk's xAI famously drove in semitrucks with natural gas generators on the back to build what was at one time the world's largest data center.

Power generation efficiency is out. Speed to power is all that developers care about. AI data centers can generate $10–12 million per MW annually, or $10–12 billion per GW. Bringing a data center online even a few years early could result in tens of billions in revenue that would otherwise be forgone. In this environment, developers are willing to overlook inefficiencies that could cost millions of dollars.

Gas now, clean energy later

This buildout is overwhelmingly powered by natural gas. Nearly every project we reviewed mentions renewables, hydrogen, or nuclear in its public announcements. But the equipment actually being installed in 2025 and 2026 is almost entirely gas-fired. Renewable capacity, where committed, is scheduled for 2028 or later. Nuclear is a decade away.

Press releases for these projects say one thing. But the 35+ permit documents, site plans, and equipment deals we found tell a much different story. Nearly 75% of the generation equipment we could identify (23 GW) was natural gas-powered.

There is one notable exception. Switch's Citadel Campus in Nevada includes 127 MW of solar and 240 MWh of battery storage serving the data center directly—what the company claims is the world's largest behind-the-meter solar-plus-storage project. With power costs locked in around 4.9 cents per kWh, Citadel shows that renewables-first behind-the-meter development is possible in the right location with the right economics. But it remains the exception, not the rule.

Development is concentrating in a few mostly red states

Just five states account for 83% of all proposed BTM capacity. Two patterns stand out among top states: proximity to major natural gas production regions and regulatory frameworks that favor rapid development.

How we found this data

This report is based on a review of dozens of permit documents, press releases, SEC filings, utility filings, and local news stories. For each project, we tried to trace what equipment was actually being installed—not just what was being shared in a press release. Air quality permits, in particular, often list specific turbine models and capacities—details that reveal a developer's power strategy in ways that press releases do not. The result is a granular view of how data centers are actually getting built, and who is supplying the equipment to power them.

Read the full report and download the data

In the full ~50 page report, we've extensively documented the power strategies of 46 behind-the-meter data centers. We wrote detailed case studies for roughly a dozen of them. We've also identified patterns across all the projects and power strategies.

Along with the report, we're releasing two data files that include the 46 data centers, including their developers, power capacity, exact location, and power strategy. The second data file includes the 36 power equipment installations that we identified including the OEM or supplier (e.g. GE Vernova, Siemens, Caterpillar, etc.), generation capacity, and data center.

About Cleanview

Cleanview tracks 10,000+ clean energy and data center projects, 500+ developers, and key market trends in real-time. Cleanview's research has been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and dozens of leading industry publications.

The company was founded by Michael Thomas, a recognized thought leader in clean energy and data centers who writes a weekly newsletter reaching more than 75,000 subscribers and followers across all platforms.

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