Wedoany.com Report on Mar 7th, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) will serve as the primary contractor for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) work to provide power for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the United States. Independent power producer Base Electron has signed a $24 billion design-build agreement with B&W, aiming to add 1.2 gigawatts of generation capacity to directly supply AI factory campuses developed by data center company Applied Digital.

Applied Digital is advancing several computing center projects, including Polaris Forge I and II in North Dakota, which will add 700 megawatts of generation capacity. As the primary contractor for engineering and construction, B&W will equip the power plant with four 300-megawatt B&W natural gas boilers and a steam turbine generator system from Siemens Energy.

Kenneth Young, Chairman and CEO of B&W, stated, "Receiving full notice to proceed on this $24 billion project underscores B&W's strategic role in supporting the massive power demands of large-scale AI data centers. Our natural gas boilers and related technologies, combined with Siemens Energy's steam turbines, provide reliable, high-capacity power generation that meets the current grid's timing requirements."

The Polaris Forge I and II projects, with an estimated total cost of $30 billion, are planned to become operational this year and by 2027. Coreweave has announced a lease for the Polaris Forge 1 data center. Last year, Applied Digital engaged Swiss company ABB to provide medium-voltage electrical infrastructure for the new Polaris Forge 2 campus.

Earlier this year, Applied Digital revealed it is raising $2.15 billion in debt notes to finance these projects, with the debt issuance closing next week. These moves are aimed at addressing the rapidly growing power demand from AI data centers.