Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photoAnthropic Agrees to Pay $3.4B for 1.7GW Gas Generators to Power AI Data Centers
“Anthropic’s purchase looks like a last resort.”
“The deal is a lesson in what a credit rating is worth when you have a mountain of cash”
Photo: Tdrss / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Anthropic paid about $3.4 billion for 1.7 gigawatts of gas generators. The generators were acquired from Caterpillar orders originally placed by OnePWR Solutions.
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Anthropic buys generator capacity
Anthropic agreed to pay $3.4 billion for commitments covering 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty gas-fired generators, taking over orders that OnePWR Solutions had placed with Caterpillar about two years earlier. The deal included engineering and construction capabilities needed to install the generators, and Anthropic did not acquire OnePWR itself or move any OnePWR employees. Anthropic is buying Caterpillar generators that OnePWR had originally ordered, and the generators are capable of producing up to 1.7 gigawatts of electricity.
Anthropic disclosed in its S-1 filing that it is paying SpaceX subsidiary xAI $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 to use xAI’s computing power. The Financial Times described the arrangement as the largest known single purchase of power-generation equipment by an AI lab, according to Martin Cid Magazine.
Why power became the bottleneck
BigGo Finance said Anthropic pivoted from choosing to buy power from outside sources to securing generation equipment itself, describing the move as a way to address power crunches facing AI data centers. BigGo Finance reported that new orders now take years to deliver and that Anthropic secured volume booked before prices rose, with some equipment to be supplied early and the remainder over the next two years. The backlog for natural gas turbines stretches into the early 2030s and queues to connect to the electrical grid can be just as long.
Arash Nazhad, head of clean energy and power at investment bank Stifel, said, "Companies believe that owning part of the power infrastructure and having their own capabilities better protects them from disruptions they cannot control." Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, under the US Department of Energy, estimated in a June report that data center power consumption could rise to 11.8% of total US usage by 2030.
Broader AI energy race
BigGo Finance said the sources tied Anthropic’s purchase to a wider shift in which AI firms seek direct control of electricity supply, with BigGo Finance describing competition for AI infrastructure expanding beyond semiconductors into securing power production facilities. xAI signed gas turbine purchase contracts worth a total of $2.8 billion this year and Elon Musk acquired APR Energy for $1 billion in July. Alphabet signed a contract last year to acquire energy company Intersect for $4.75 billion, and Microsoft partnered with Chevron to develop a 2.67 GW gas-fired power plant dedicated to data centers in Texas.
Anthropic is calling for accelerated permitting procedures for natural gas, nuclear, and geothermal power projects and swift approval of transmission line construction for new data centers. BigGo Finance warned that if the share of gas generation grows, greenhouse gas emission burdens and exposure to fuel cost fluctuations could emerge as new risks.