UK-based National Grid has announced a $1.75 billion strategic minority investment in Joulent, a newly independent energy company focused on supplying multi-gigawatt power directly to AI data center campuses. The deal, executed through National Grid Ventures, was announced less than a week after Engine No. 1 publicly launched Joulent as a standalone business targeting large-load industrial and AI infrastructure customers.
Why Dedicated Generation Is Gaining Ground
The investment reflects growing frustration among hyperscale operators with traditional utility interconnection timelines. Rather than waiting years for transmission upgrades and queue approvals, developers are increasingly pairing new generation assets directly with data center campuses. Joulent calls this its “Across-the-Meter” model, placing generation physically adjacent to large AI facilities to accelerate deployment while limiting immediate strain on the broader transmission grid. Projects are designed for eventual grid interconnection, with future developments potentially incorporating solar generation.
Project Kilby: The First Major Asset
The National Grid investment will support Joulent’s flagship development, Project Kilby, a 2.67 GW natural gas-powered generation campus in Reeves County, Texas. The project is being developed alongside Chevron subsidiary Energy Forge and GE Vernova, and will supply power to a Microsoft-operated data center campus under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Joulent has formalized a 50% ownership stake in Project Kilby.
A Structural Shift in Data Center Siting
Industry analysts see the deal as a signal of deeper changes in how hyperscale infrastructure is planned and financed. Neil Osnato, founder of Persistence Analytics Group, told Data Center Knowledge that the investment points to a broader structural shift rather than a single company’s strategy.
“The biggest takeaway is that power availability is becoming the primary determinant of data center development,” Osnato said. “Historically, developers selected a site and then worked with the utility to secure service. Increasingly, developers are selecting sites based on where reliable power can actually be delivered on the required timeline.”
Osnato also cautioned that dedicated generation does not eliminate risk entirely. Executed power purchase agreements and interconnection requests can still face delays from transmission constraints, permitting hurdles, fuel availability, and execution challenges. “It changes where the risk sits rather than removing it,” he noted.
National Grid’s Strategic Rationale
National Grid CEO Zoe Yujnovich described the investment as a disciplined, partner-led position in contracted critical infrastructure tied to long-term electricity demand growth. The deal also expands National Grid’s relationships with GE Vernova and Chevron, two key participants in the Kilby project.
For hosting and infrastructure professionals, the emergence of dedicated power developers like Joulent underscores that electricity access is becoming a first-order constraint in data center planning. Land and capital remain important, but the ability to deliver reliable power on a predictable schedule is increasingly determining where large-scale AI compute infrastructure can actually be built.