[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Pipeline Firms in Talks With Data Centers About Gas Supply
Companies Running Data Centers Want to Ensure Gas Will Be Available — and Quickly Obtainable — When They Need It
Pipeline giants Energy Transfer and Williams Cos. are talking to data center operators about building pipelines directly to their facilities to fuel on-site power plants as the centers prepare for a boom in artificial intelligence.
Utilities are bracing for the largest increase in power demand in a generation due to data centers for AI, computer chip factories and a growing number of electric vehicles. Some of that additional power will come from wind and solar. But a significant portion will be from gas-fired plants. And companies that run data centers want to make sure that gas will be available — and quickly obtainable — when they need it.
Energy Transfer is in discussions with data centers of different sizes, many of which want to generate power on-site, co-CEO Marshall McCrea said in a call with analysts Aug. 7.
RELATED: Energy Transfer Files for Regulator Review in Pipeline Spat
“It’s an enormous opportunity for us,” McCrea said.
Energy Transfer ranks No. 60 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Energy Transfer is pursuing expansions at currently connected plants and is in discussions to serve power plants with new connections, according to a company presentation.
Rival pipeline company Williams also is in talks to directly supply gas to data centers, particularly in the southeastern part of the U.S. and the mid-Atlantic.
“We, frankly, are kind of overwhelmed with the number of requests that we’re dealing with, and we are trying to make sense of those projects,” CEO Alan Armstrong said on a call with analysts this week.
