AB Energy USA has secured about 2 gigawatts (GW) of on-site power capacity for U.S. data centers, the company said. That is roughly double the 1 GW of data-center-related projects it had disclosed when it opened its Woodlands headquarters in March. The capacity comes from AB Energy's ECOMAX® modules, which run five on-site data centers across Texas and Oklahoma.
Gas engines, chillers and batteries
The ECOMAX systems use INNIO Jenbacher gas engines and can add absorption chillers, which use waste heat from the engines to produce chilled water for a data center's cooling needs. Some of the projects will also add battery energy storage and other technologies, which AB Energy said would add capacity and operational flexibility.
AB Energy USA CEO Paolo Ruggeri said the company treats power and cooling as one system, "built in parallel with the facility, rather than added after the fact." He said AB Energy is already securing further generation units on top of the 2 GW now booked, to meet client demand over the next five to eight years.
A load-side engineering partner
On several of the projects, AB Energy USA worked with Eradeh Power Consulting, a Houston-based advisory firm that specializes in power for AI and hyperscale data centers. Eradeh translates the electrical behavior of large AI computing loads, including step loads, ramp rates and voltage transients, into requirements for an islanded or behind-the-meter power plant. AB Energy said pairing that load-side engineering with its own on-site energy system design let the two companies tailor each project to a data center's power and operational needs.
Jobs tied to the buildout
AB Energy USA Chief Commercial Officer and Sales Director Guiseppe Fiorella said the milestone points to rising demand for an energy provider able to install power fast and keep it running reliably for years. He said delivering at that scale takes "an operating platform of engineering, commissioning, and service teams," and that the projects secured so far will support 100 to 150 service and maintenance positions. AB Energy said the milestone is a sign that behind-the-meter, natural-gas generation is moving from isolated projects into a multi-gigawatt equipment market, and that the growth creates work around engines, gas supply, cooling, batteries, electrical systems, commissioning and maintenance.
