TechCrunch: plant costs jump 66%
- TechCrunch reported Monday that U.S. combined-cycle gas plant construction costs surged as developers raced to supply electricity for new artificial-intelligence data centers. - BloombergNEF data cited by TechCrunch put average costs at $2,157 per kilowatt in 2025, up from under $1,500 in 2023. - Turbine shortages are stretching project timelines too, tightening power supply for data-center buildouts. (techcrunch.com)
A gas plant burns fuel to spin a turbine, like a jet engine tied to a generator, and many new data centers now want one. TechCrunch reported April 27 that U.S. combined-cycle gas plant costs have jumped as developers chase power for artificial-intelligence campuses. (techcrunch.com) In a combined-cycle plant, the first turbine makes electricity and its hot exhaust boils water for a second turbine, squeezing more power from the same gas. BloombergNEF data cited by TechCrunch said the average cost rose from under $1,500 per kilowatt in 2023 to $2,157 per kilowatt in 2025. (techcrunch.com) (hoodline.com) The wait is growing too. TechCrunch said completion times for new plants are now 23% longer, while S&P Global reported turbine lead times ranging from one year to as long as seven years, depending on the model. (techcrunch.com) (spglobal.com) The pressure starts with data centers, which are giant warehouses of servers that turn electricity into computing power. The Electric Power Research Institute said data centers could consume 9% to 17% of U.S. electricity by 2030, up sharply as artificial-intelligence workloads spread. (epri.com) That demand is colliding with a grid that cannot add generation and transmission overnight. EPRI said the main risk is a timing mismatch between fast data-center construction and slower power-system upgrades, and Data Center Knowledge said that mismatch could hit reliability and affordability. (epri.com) (datacenterknowledge.com) Utilities and developers are responding by ordering turbines years ahead and reworking project plans around equipment availability. Utility Dive reported last month that rising demand from data centers, electrification and industrial growth is reshaping power-sector planning, not just pricing. (utilitydive.com) The squeeze also weakens the old argument that gas plants are always the fastest cheap option. Bloomberg reported April 1 that turbine prices were already climbing fast enough to complicate efforts to power the next wave of data centers. (bloomberg.com) The result is simple: the same artificial-intelligence boom driving data-center construction is now making the power plants behind it slower and more expensive to build. (techcrunch.com)
