Irving-based Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) is partnering  with American Intelligence & Power Corporation and Boyd CAT to provide 2 GW of fast-response natural gas generator sets for AIP’s Monarch Compute Campus in West Virginia. How much power is that? 2 gigawatts equals 2 billion watts—enough to power up to 2 million homes. 

But instead of powering homes, the multi-phase power generation and infrastructure platform is designed to deliver “long-term, high-reliability power solutions” to hyperscale and enterprise data center customers, Caterpillar said.

Under the purchase agreement, AIP Corp has ordered 2 GW of fast-response natural gas generator sets to support the initial phase of Monarch. [Photo: Caterpillar Inc.]

Deliveries of Caterpillar’s generator sets are scheduled from September 2026 through August 2027. The equipment will be augmented with battery energy storage systems designed to handle the extreme load swings of AI data centers, Caterpillar noted. The generators and battery systems aim to support Monarch’s accelerated time-to-market strategy to meet rapidly growing power demand from data centers—and this is only for Monarch’s initial phases. Additional phased expansion is planned over time, Caterpillar said.

“This collaboration reflects Caterpillar and our dealers’ continued focus on supporting customers that require primary, continuous-duty power at scale through our broad energy solutions portfolio,” said Melissa Busen, SVP of Electric Power at Caterpillar.

“Projects like Monarch demonstrate how Caterpillar’s natural gas generation platforms are being deployed as core infrastructure for data centers and other power intensive applications,” she added in a statement, “where reliability, speed of deployment, and lifecycle performance are critical.”

AIP CEO Daniel J. Shapiro said his company’s design “is purpose-built for AI data center operations, combining fast-response natural gas generation with battery energy storage to manage rapid load variability and deliver consistent power quality at scale.

“By leveraging our existing microgrid designation from the state of West Virginia, we can bring new capacity online quickly while supporting long-term grid reliability and resilience, without increasing rates or adding costs for existing utility customers,” Shapiro added.

More on Caterpillar’s generator sets 

The Caterpillar G3516 fast-response natural gas generator sets are well-suited for behind-the-meter data center applications, Caterpillar said, due to the equipment’s rapid-start capability, load-following performance, and high reliability in continuous-duty operation. The generator sets can ramp from zero to full load in around seven seconds, supporting AI-driven workloads that have rapid load fluctuations and stringent power quality requirements. The equipment will operate on natural gas and incorporate advanced emissions controls, the company added—including selective catalytic reduction, to support ultra-low emissions performance and compliance with all relevant air permitting requirements.

Supporting ‘long-term grid reliability and resilience’

The Monarch Compute Campus is designed as a fully self-supplied, behind-the-meter power platform. The campus will generate power onsite and won’t require incremental utility transmission or distribution infrastructure to serve its load, Caterpillar said. With a target of 8 GW of planned generation capacity and an existing West Virginia microgrid designation, the campus is designed to not increase rates or add costs for existing utility customers, Caterpillar added, and will support “long-term grid reliability and resilience.”

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