Gas Turbines and Datacenters
my TLDR is:
• Literally every turbine (even the inefficient ones) are sold out through 2030.
• Prices are 3x those from 2019. Slot times are more valuable than the cost efficiency.
• Turbine OEM's were burned out from a buildout from 2009–2014 when there was a huge rush due to the shale revolution, shift to use more gas due to Fukushima, coal retirements. For ex, GE Power imploded. Therefore, they have been slow to expand production.
• Four key bottlenecks for parts that go into a gas turbine:
1. Single-crystal castings: only 5 firms in the world do this
2. Heavy rotor forgings: only 4 firms do this
3. The casting furnaces themselves: 3 firms
4. GSU transformers: in the US, there's only one. Heron Power is building here, they raised $140 million in a Series B from a16z in Feb 2026.
India's wind turbine makers are pushing a repowering plan: swap old turbines for modern ones to lift capacity at existing sites by nearly 50%, replacing 8 GW of older units, with no new land needed. #India# #WindPower# #Renewables#
Demand for natural gas turbines is outpacing manufacturing capacity, leading to increased wait times, according to one of the world’s top makers of the power generation equipment
Study finds painting wind turbine blades black could reduce bird deaths
Researchers found that painting one blade black made it easier for birds to spot spinning turbines, potentially reducing collisions and helping protect wildlife
ELON MUSK: “Turbines are sold out through 2030. In order to bring enough power online, SpaceX and Tesla will probably have to make the turbine blades and vanes internally. There are only three casting companies in the world that make these, and they’re massively backlogged.”
🌍 57 wind turbine blades became a parking garage
Lund, Sweden's Aurora garage holds 365 cars.
Turbines get a second life
Sources: The Mayor EU, Lund AB
#omgfacts# #Sweden# #GreenEnergy# #Architecture#