Google will buy the output for two decades from a seller that is about 92% owned by American Electric Power, with funds advised by Basalt Infrastructure Partners holding almost 8%. The 702 megawatt plant is planned for Wyoming, with site activity already started and a target in-service date before 2029, according to an emailed statement Wednesday.
Tech companies hungry for electricity to run artificial intelligence are searching for fast-build options. Bloom argues its fuel cells can be deployed within 90 days, at a time when new natural gas turbines are stuck in multi-year queues and nuclear builds typically need ten-plus years for approvals and construction. The deal marks AEP's third deployment of Bloom's tech and its largest to date: the company is building a 73 megawatt installation for Amazon.com Inc., plus a 25 megawatt system serving a Cologix Inc. data center, both located in Ohio. Separately, Bloom will provide fuel-cell equipment for Oracle Corp.'s Project Jupiter, a 2.45 gigawatt data center being built in New Mexico that has encountered local pushback and still needs certain permits.
Investors took a cautious read on Wednesday. Bloom Energy fell as much as 5%, American Electric Power eased up to 0.3%, and Alphabet rose as much as 1.6%. The pitch here is speed to power: a path to add capacity much faster than traditional gas or nuclear builds.
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AI's power needs are reshaping how and where new electricity gets built. A long-term contract with Google, an accelerated build timeline, and a defined ownership split show why quick-to-deploy options are getting real money. The ripple effects touch equipment makers, utilities, and the cloud players counting on reliable capacity to keep training models without waiting years for the next plant.
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