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Sean Hughes, business development manager at Wärtsilä told RCRTech that uncertainty around utility timelines is pushing developers toward dedicated generation assets
In sum – what to know:
Power first – Hughes said power availability is now the primary consideration for greenfield AI data center projects, ahead of many traditional siting factors.
On-site bridging – Developers are increasingly deploying on-site power while waiting for utility infrastructure to catch up.
Permitting pressure – Environmental permitting remains a key challenge, prompting operators to seek solutions that maximize capacity while minimizing approval times.
Power availability has become the leading consideration for new AI data center developments, according to Sean Hughes, business development manager at Wärtsilä, who said developers are increasingly prioritizing access to electricity over factors that historically drove site selection.
“I’d say there’s probably two key questions when it comes to firstly establishing a greenfield data center project. Power availability is number one right now. Labor availability is a close second though, so we shouldn’t forget that,” Hugues said in an interview with RCRTech.
Hughes said the industry’s priorities have shifted significantly. “In the past, customers were asking themselves questions like, what’s the distance to the fiber? What’s the latency?… Now, they want to get as close as possible to the pipelines… And then they ask themselves questions like, is power available now via the grid? And if not, then can I bring the power on site?”
He added that uncertainty around utility timelines is pushing developers toward dedicated generation assets. “Often there’s a lack of certainty over when the power can actually be delivered to the data center, if it’s a grid-connected power. And there’s no guarantees provided by the utilities often. Whereas on the flip side, with an on-site power solution, you get speed, but you also get a guaranteed delivery time.”
“According to Hughes, one strategy is ‘on-site bridging,’ where developers establish temporary or permanent generation assets before grid connections become available.
“So what they typically do is they establish an on-site power station first with the intention of using that as primary power. And then when the grid comes online, either that on-site power station is converted to a backup or is taken away entirely because the solution is on a trailer,” he said.
He also highlighted environmental permitting as a major consideration when deploying large on-site facilities. “Unfortunately, the environmental permitting is often on the critical path to the completion of the data center on-site power station.”
To address that challenge, Hughes said developers seek to maximize generating capacity while minimizing permitting complexity. “So what these developers tend to do is try and maximize the megawatts while minimizing the permitting time.”
Wärtsilä recently said demand for energy projects, including data centers, remains strong, with a large share of its 2028 engine production capacity already committed and firm orders beginning to extend into 2029.
Speaking during the company’s latest results call, President and CEO Håkan Agnevall characterized the data center market as active despite the timing uncertainty associated with individual projects.
Agnevall also said customers seeking to secure supply are already placing orders several years ahead. “We are already sold out for 2028. You’re certainly looking at a lead time of three years if you want to contract with us.”
