GE Vernova, NRG Energy, Kiewit Bring Power Online to Meet GEN AI Growth

NRG Energy, GE Vernova, and Kiewit’s The Industrial Co. formed a joint venture to generate new electricity capacity to fulfill the increasing power demand for advanced computing and generative AI (GenAI). The joint venture aims to shorten the concept-to-electron timeline, ensuring that electricity generation capacity is quickly brought online to help meet demand.

“The growing demand for electricity in part due to GenAI and the buildup of data centers means we need to form new partnerships to quickly increase America’s dispatchable generation,” said Robert J. Gaudette, Executive Vice President, President of NRG Business and Wholesale Operations. “Working together, these three industry leaders are committed to executing with speed to meet our customers’ generation needs.”

The partnership combines the capabilities of a power generation and wholesale company/developer, OEM, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company to deliver quality, guaranteed, and quick power to GenAI operations.

Joint Venture Timeline

Initially, the venture will advance four natural gas, combined-cycle power plant projects totaling over 5 GW in the ERCOT & PJM markets. The first 1.2 GW, powered by two 7HA gas turbines, is expected to come online in 2029 under a slot reservation agreement with GE Vernova—the following projects are scheduled to commence operation through 2032. The replicable and scalable model may generate 10-15 GW of future power and expand to other areas across the United States.

7HA gas turbine; image credit: GE Vernova

“We’re excited to be part of this partnership to deliver power generation projects to support the growth and demand of technology development in the United States,” said Dave Flickinger, Executive Vice President, Kiewit Corp. “Our long track record as an EPC contractor in the power market will help us meet the speed, safety, quality and delivery demands of this venture – and serve as a partner to NRG and GE Vernova.”

More GE Vernova News

In early February 2025, GE Vernova and Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity (MoE) completed upgrade, retrofit, and maintenance work at several power plants to enhance the national grid’s stability, capacity, and modernization. The broader upgrade project covers 46 gas turbines across 12 power plants and is expected to add up to 500 MW to Iraq’s grid. Participating plants include Ninawa, Al Diwaniyah, Hilla, Karbala, Shat Al Basra, and more.

Under Iraq’s power modernization initiative, GE Vernova installed its advanced gas path upgrades on 9.E gas turbines—for the Al-Quds and Dhiqar power plants—and MXLII upgrades on 13E2 gas turbines for the Al Mansouriya power plant, increasing output up to 6%. The company also completed maintenance projects across several power plants with a total capacity of 3.7 GW, enhancing the long-term reliability and stability of the Qayyarah, Diwaniyah, Al-Haydariyah, and Baghdad South power plants.

And in late January, Engine No. 1 and Chevron U.S.A. agreed to establish a joint venture to deliver low-cost, scalable power solutions for U.S.-based data centers, leveraging GE Vernova’s gas turbine technology to generate electricity with domestic natural gas. It aims to build the first multi-GW-scale, co-located power plant and AI data center during Trump’s new term. Aspects of the first projects, known as “power foundries”, include:

• Seven 7HA natural gas-powered turbines
• Built under slot reservation agreements on accelerated timelines
• Serving data centers in the U.S. Southeast, Midwest, and West