What's Next for Onsite Energy and Data Center Power

About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of onsite power solutions for data centers amid increasing electricity demand driven by AI and cloud workloads.

One of the biggest growth stories of 2026 is the rise of on-site powers for data centers. The AI boom is driving huge growth in demand for electricity to support AI factories, as well as traditional cloud workloads. But many major markets have limited availability of utility power, as electric grids are struggling to keep pace with the growth of digital infrastructure. Today on Data Center Richness, we are talking on-site power for data centers. Our guest is Scott Yappen, a business development specialist with Wartsila, a Finnish company that has been a major player in the global power market. Over the past year, Wartsila has signed several deals to provide generation capacity for U.S. utilities and and developers to support data center growth. Our topics include the growth of data demand, options for onsite power, the supply of engines, and the key role of energy storage in future data center campuses. Here's an overview: 00:00 - Onsite Power, and Why it Matters 1:00 - Meet Scott Yappen of Wartsila. 5:00 - About Wartsila and Its Energy Offerings 8:00 - The Power Squeeze and the Rise of Onsite Generation 11:30 - Supply, Demand and Equipment Timelines 18:30 - Criteria for Onsite…

People in this episode

Host: Rich Miller

Guest: Scott Yappen

Topics covered

• onsite power
• data center growth
• electricity demand
• energy storage
• AI impact
• utility power

Keywords

• onsite energy
• data centers
• electric grids
• power generation
• energy storage
• cloud computing
• AI factories

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wartsila

Places: U.S.

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