| Datacentre power


Systems. “And with lead times for packaged boilers of a year or less, demand is growing.” Additionally, there is a wealth of boiler suppliers across the world so it could take a while for rampant datacentre demand for power to exhaust the supply chain. Each boiler manufacturer has its own specialty. Some gravitate toward boilers that could accompany large steam turbines. Others have carved out a regional niche or prefer to concentrate on smaller plants. Rentech, for example, focuses on boilers ranging from 20 000 pounds per hour of steam to 650 000 pounds per hour at pressures from 200 to 2000 psi. Such models would be ideally suited to steam turbines in the 20 MW to 40 MW range. Modularised designs can accommodate turbines up to 50 MW. The company’s fired watertube models are built with water-cooled, full membrane wall construction and are designed to keep maintenance needs low. Its designs typically include large furnaces to optimise circulation, transfer heat efficiently, and supply steam while staying within emissions limits. Rentech has been beefing up its manufacturing capabilities due to datacentre demand for both boilers and HRSGs. “The packaged boiler is the workhorse of a great many industries and would perform well in the datacentre market,” said Lara. “Many datacentres are expected to order packaged boilers and steam turbines over the next couple of years.”


Early adopter


One of the earliest adopters of the boiler/ steam turbine configuration is datacentre developer and operator Applied Digital. It has two AI datacentres running in North Dakota, and several more being added in that state. The company is ordering 1.2 GW of steam turbines from Siemens Energy to be twinned with boilers.


“The use of a boiler with a steam turbine is a proven approach to power generation that can be delivered faster than other generation solutions,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Digital. “This enables us to support the next generation of AI infrastructure.”


A natural-gas-fired boiler will operate with a 300 MW steam turbine at four different


Left and above: packaged boiler production in Rentech’s manufacturing shop, Abilene, Texas. Photo: D Robb


Completed Rentech boilers being loaded for shipping. Photo: Rentech


sites. The Siemens Energy double casing SST 800/500 steam turbogenerators to be deployed are not off the shelf products; their design is tailored for each project based on the required power output, available steam parameters and other site specific conditions. The SST-800/500 is typically used for projects in the range 200-350 MW, and is designed to achieve high efficiency levels, contributing to optimised fuel utilisation, and overall plant performance, added Arndt Zimmermann. Delivery of the steam turbines is expected by the end of 2028, which fits in with the datacentre construction schedule. Applied Digital’s CEO also wants gas turbines. But he doesn’t expect to receive any until 2032 or 2033 due to the steadily growing order backlog for some models. He has a plan to eventually convert his power generation


facilities into full-blown combined cycle power plants. He explains that he needs the power as fast as possible and will need more power at these sites soon after. Therefore, the boilers will be configured to work in tandem with HRSGs as part of a combined cycle power generation system.


Shorter lead times


With such long delays for gas turbines, the packaged boiler/steam turbine combo could fill the gap for some datacentre developers. Both boiler and turbine are based on proven technology and are capable of plenty of capacity. Delivery times are also attractive to those engaged in a frantic race to bring AI datacentres online as soon as possible. “Lead times for a package boiler are typically year or less,” said Lara.


www.modernpowersystems.com | October 2026 | 23


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