Energy and Industrial Firms Expand to Power AI Data Centers

Energy and industrial companies are rapidly expanding operations to support the construction of artificial intelligence data centers. ONEOK signed an agreement to supply natural gas to a 1-gigawatt power plant dedicated to AI energy needs, a project with a total capital cost of $100 million. This strategy allows developers to bypass grid interconnection delays and the slower deployment of nuclear power.

Other energy firms, including Chevron and Williams, are similarly building gas-fired power plants and pipelines. BloombergNEF estimates that data centers will drive a 36 percent increase in U.S. natural gas production by the mid-2030s, while Wood Mackenzie forecasts a 47 percent surge in power sector gas demand by 2035.

Industrial contractors are seeing record growth as a result of this expansion. Comfort Systems USA, Sterling Infrastructure, EMCOR Group, and Powell Industries report massive backlogs for wiring, cooling, and powering hyperscaler campuses. Powell Industries recently secured a behind-the-meter data center order exceeding $400 million, and Comfort Systems USA reports a $14.1 billion backlog.

This industrial surge remains heavily dependent on the capital expenditure of major tech firms including Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon. ONEOK's Chief Operating Officer Sheridan Swords noted that the company is in late-stage discussions for additional AI data center supply opportunities.