Beyond the Grid: Natural Gas, Speed, and the New Data Center Reality

Dec 12, 2025

Power is the new limiting factor for data centers, with the grid struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Natural gas has evolved from a controversial option to a reliable energy source for large-scale operations. The panel discusses the importance of firm fuel and financeable infrastructure to ensure reliability in energy supply. Operators are now prioritizing expertise in power generation, partnering with seasoned developers to enhance capacity and resilience. Key technology choices, such as the use of reciprocating engines, are explored to optimize performance.

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INSIGHT

Pragmatism Drives Gas Adoption

Natural gas often matches the industry's near-term demands for speed, scale, and firm power despite not being perfect.
It remains a pragmatic choice for many large AI-focused data center projects.

INSIGHT

Permitting And Public Perception Matter

Behind-the-meter generation can reduce pressure on ratepayers by shielding grid-upgrade costs when deployed thoughtfully.
Permitting is locally driven and politically sensitive, so proactive communication and advocacy matter.

INSIGHT

Design For Extreme Load Dynamics

Rotating generation alone can’t handle extreme AI-era load swings without system-level design.
Controls, batteries, capacitors, and close tenant coordination are required for stable operations.

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In this Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025 session—moderated by Stu Dyer (CBRE) with panelists Aad den Elzen (Solar Turbines/Caterpillar), Creede Williams (Exigent Energy Partners), and Adam Michaelis (PointOne Data Centers)—the conversation centered on a hard truth of the AI buildout: power is now the limiting factor, and the grid isn’t keeping pace.

Dyer framed how quickly the market has escalated, from “big” 48MW campuses a decade ago to today’s expectations of 500MW-to-gigawatt-scale capacity. With utility timelines stretched and interconnection uncertainty rising, the panel argued that natural gas has moved from taboo to toolkit—often the fastest route to firm power at meaningful scale.

Williams, speaking from the IPP perspective, emphasized that speed-to-power requires firm fuel and financeable infrastructure, warning that “interruptible” gas or unclear supply economics can undermine both reliability and underwriting. Den Elzen noted that gas is already a proven solution across data center deployments, and in many cases is evolving from a “bridge” to a durable complement to the grid—especially when modular approaches improve resiliency and enable phased buildouts. Michaelis described how operators are building internal “power plant literacy,” hiring specialists and partnering with experienced power developers because data center teams can’t assume they can self-perform generation projects.

The panel also “de-mystified” key technology choices—reciprocating engines vs. turbines—as tradeoffs among lead time, footprint, ramp speed, fuel flexibility, efficiency, staffing, and long-term futureproofing. On AI-era operations, the group underscored that extreme load swings can’t be handled by rotating generation alone, requiring system-level design with controls, batteries, capacitors, and close coordination with tenant load profiles.

Audience questions pushed into public policy and perception: rate impacts, permitting, and the long-term mix of gas, grid, and emerging options like SMRs. The panel’s consensus: behind-the-meter generation can help shield ratepayers from grid-upgrade costs, but permitting remains locally driven and politically sensitive—making industry communication and advocacy increasingly important.

Bottom line: in the new data center reality, natural gas is here—often not as a perfect answer, but as the one that matches the industry’s near-term demands for speed, scale, and firm power.