Siemens Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Gas-Fired Development Push

Donald Trump's new administration was on everyone's mind January in Davos, Switzerland, as some of the biggest names in global finance met to parse the economic future. One executive from Siemens Energy (Munich, Germany) was upbeat about his company's near-term prospects--specifically, Trump's push for stronger U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) development, which likely will increase domestic demand for Siemens' steam and natural gas-fired turbines. Industrial Info is tracking about $59 billion worth of active and proposed projects in the U.S. Power and Industrial Manufacturing industries featuring Siemens' services, nearly $30 billion of which are nearing or under construction.

Two days after taking office, Trump highlighted the "Stargate" joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that plans to invest as much as $500 billion in infrastructure for AI-oriented data centers in Texas. Such facilities typically consume massive amounts of power and have heightened the need for dispatchable energy in their surrounding areas.

Joe Kaeser, who chairs the supervisory board for Siemens, said his company was "in the sweet spot" to benefit from the rapidly growing presence of data centers--particularly those focused on AI--in the U.S., as their need for reliable energy capacity "brought a boom to all energy companies, which is second to none."

Although Siemens is not currently attached to the Stargate development, it is expanding its U.S.-based production of the equipment and facilities needed to keep such projects active. Siemens recently began work on a $149.9 million expansion of its steam gas turbine and generator manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, to meet the growing domestic demand for large power transformers that convert high-voltage electricity into lower voltages. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project and Plant databases can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

On the power-generation side, Siemens is attached to about $3.9 billion worth of fossil fuel-powered projects across the U.S. that are nearing or under construction. This includes several projects in Texas, such as NRG Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NRG) (Houston) $300 million addition of two turbines at its T.H. Wharton Power Plant in Houston. NRG is installing a pair of Siemens SGT6-5000F models, each of which will have a 188-megawatt (MW) capacity. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) also is using SGT6-5000F turbines for its $800 million Turtle Creek Power Station in Springfield, Nebraska, which is nearing completion. The two simple-cycle units will generate 225 MW each. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

“These engines are part of the larger system expansion our community is demanding, from more high-voltage transmission to more generators," said Brad Underwood, the vice president of systems transformation for OPPD, last year to Power Engineering. “We modeled all types of generation and energy-storage options that are consistent with that commitment, without sacrificing affordability and reliability for our customers. The new combustion turbines are part of that journey."

Among the most anticipated projects featuring Siemens' services is the $1.2 billion Trumbull Energy Center in Lordstown, Ohio, a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle (NGCC) plant that is expected to generate 950 MW from two combustion turbines and a steam turbine, all provided by Siemens. Last year, developer Clean Energy Future LLC (Manchester, Massachusetts) agreed to sell the project to ArcLight Capital Partners LLC (Boston, Massachusetts). Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

Steven Remillard, the chief operating officer of Trumbull Asset Management, told The Business Journal in 2023 that the Trumbull project is a net positive for northeastern Ohio: "We've got a lot of aging power plants, so with the abundant, low-cost natural gas in the region, these types of projects and plants are very compact, but could produce a lot of clean, environmentally friendly energy, which can help to keep the electric rates low for the consumers, but could also help provide a lot of reliable electricity to support increased development."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and proposed projects in the U.S. Power and Industrial Manufacturing industries featuring Siemens' services.