“This is an exciting partnership for our company and an important solution in advancing AI technology”
By Nileena Sunil
Energy giants Chevron, General Electric (GE) Vernova, and investment firm Engine No.1 are teaming up to power data centers for artificial intelligence. The plan, announced on Jan. 28, involves building natural gas-power plants that use GE Vernova turbines to generate four gigawatts of electricity—enough to sustain over three million homes—for data centers by the end of 2027.
This comes following deep tech and energy stock losses, including GE Vernova’s plunge, following DeepSeek’s disruption of AI, where the Chinese startup unveiled an AI model that uses far less computing power than leading western AI models, making investors question the billions of dollars spent on AI infrastructure, and prompting a massive sell-off in tech and power stocks.
READ: Inflation Reduction Act (IRA): Will the landmark investment survive Trump’s second term? (December 14, 2024)
Chairman and CEO of Chevron Mike Wirth wrote in a Linkedin post announcing the company’s latest collaboration: “Artificial Intelligence is one of the most important technological breakthroughs in recent history, igniting productivity gains across our global economy. The data centers needed to scale AI require massive amounts of 24/7 power. Meeting this demand is forecasted to require significant investment in power generation capacity, while managing carbon emissions and mitigating the risk of grid destabilization.”
Wirth also mentioned how the gas plant projects will be co-located with data centers rather than going through the existing power distribution grid, reducing the risk of increasing electricity costs for consumers.
Managed by Chevron New Energies, the projects aim to quickly meet customer demand while delivering competitive returns. The gas plants are expected to be designed with flexibility to potentially integrate lower carbon solutions such as carbon capture and storage, and renewable energy resources.
“This is an exciting partnership for our company and an important solution in advancing AI technology,” Wirth said.
READ: Geo2Watts leverages IRA incentives to transform idle oil wells into clean energy assets (January 23, 2025)
In another statement, Wirth also praised President Donald Trump’s “Pro-American energy policies and commitment” to energy and AI dominance.
Chevron is the second biggest U.S. oil and gas company and its initiative to help meet the demand for scalable, reliable power solutions to enable advancements in AI comes when the discussion around AI is booming and enormous amounts of money is being invested in AI infrastructure and development.