A hyperscaler backs BKV's $800M order for 1,200 MW of data center power
BKV ordered about 1,200 MW of gas power equipment for a Texas plant, and an unnamed hyperscaler covers about 90% of what is due by 31 March 2027. No power deal is signed yet, and the turbines start arriving in September 2028.
WIRE · AI DATA CENTERS · US · Data as at 7 Oct 2026
A hyperscaler is paying to hold a place in the turbine queue before it has signed for any power. BKV, the largest natural gas producer in Texas's Barnett Shale, said on 7 October 2026 that it has ordered about 1,200 MW of gas-fired power equipment for a planned Texas plant, for about $800 million. A "leading investment-grade hyperscaler" it did not name has agreed to cover about 90% of what BKV owes the supplier until 31 March 2027. That hyperscaler is also meant to buy the plant's power, but no power deal is signed yet. On the AI Data Centers layer, the stuck step is not the hall. It is the turbines that power it, and the first ones arrive in September 2028.
What happened
2 October
A BKV unit signs an equipment supply contract with an unnamed "Tier 1" supplier: two turbines, balance-of-plant equipment and services, about 1,200 MW in total
Gas turbines, reheat steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators and a plant control system, per the release
The price and the dates
About $800 million, delivered between September 2028 and May 2029. $80 million of reservation fees already paid counts toward it
The rest is paid in instalments from October 2026 to December 2028
The backstop
About $200 million is due by 31 March 2027. The hyperscaler covers about 90% of that
The same hyperscaler is the intended buyer of the plant's power
The exit
If there is no agreed power deal by 31 March 2027, BKV may cancel the contract and owe nothing more
BKV's 8-K filing, 7 October
Why cash cares
A data center earns nothing until its halls have power. For many new data centers in Texas, the quickest route to large amounts of power is a gas plant, and the slowest part of a gas plant is the turbines. Big turbine makers sell production slots years ahead. Whoever pays first gets the earlier slot.
That is what this deal buys. Here is our own arithmetic, not a BKV figure. About 90% of roughly $200 million is about $180 million that the hyperscaler stands behind before it has agreed to buy a single megawatt-hour. Of the $200 million, $80 million was already paid as reservation fees, so roughly $120 million of new instalments falls due by the end of March. The remaining roughly $600 million only gets paid if a power deal is signed and the contract carries on.
The price works out at about $667,000 per MW of capacity, or about $667 per kilowatt. That is for the equipment alone, before land, gas supply, a grid connection, construction or carbon capture.
We have seen this pattern before. In the Google and Black Hills deal in Wyoming, Google advanced $399 million for long-lead equipment. Hyperscalers are now putting cash into the power plant's order book, not just signing for the power at the end.
Figure: Turbine-slot clock. The hyperscaler carries most of the early payments. The rest of the bill depends on a power deal by 31 March 2027. Payment split and per-MW figure are our arithmetic on BKV's filing.
The step that is still open
The power deal. BKV and the hyperscaler have until 31 March 2027 to agree terms for the plant's output. BKV has not named the site, the buyer or the supplier, and the plant still needs the usual permits and a gas and grid hook-up. Even on schedule, the equipment does not finish arriving until May 2029, and it still has to be installed. A data center counting on this plant should not expect its power before then. For why the building is the quick part, see how long it takes to build an AI data center.
The second-order read
Who gets paid. The turbine supplier, first. It already holds $80 million of reservation fees and collects about $120 million more by March, mostly backed by the hyperscaler. BKV gets paid later, if a power deal lets it sell gas from its own wells into its own plant.
Who pays. The hyperscaler, about $180 million up front for an option on power it has not yet agreed to buy. If no deal is reached, that money has bought nothing but a place in the queue that BKV can walk away from.
Who waits. The data center the plant is meant to serve. Its power depends on equipment that starts arriving in September 2028.
Stuck step. Turbine slots. Chips and buildings can be bought faster than the machines that make power for them.
Two cautions
The hyperscaler, the supplier and the site are not named. BKV says only that the buyer is "leading" and investment-grade.
There is no power contract yet. The 8-K describes the hyperscaler as the intended buyer, and BKV can end the order if terms are not agreed by 31 March 2027. Our $180 million, $120 million, $600 million and per-MW figures are straight arithmetic on approximate amounts in the filing.
What to watch
- 31 March 2027: a signed power deal, or BKV ending the order.
- BKV's next quarterly results: whether it names the site, the buyer or the plant's size in more detail.
- Texas rules for large power users: how the state handles big new loads affects every plant built for a data center. We covered the rule in Texas holds the switch.
Read: AI Data Centers, Hyperscalers, and Oracle trucks in gas to keep data center power on time
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Not investment advice. Do your own research. The $180 million, $120 million, $600 million and per-MW figures are our arithmetic.
References
- BKV Corporation, Form 8-K, Item 1.01 equipment supply contract, 7 Oct 2026. Contract date, two turbines, about $800 million price, $80 million reservation fees, about $200 million due by 31 March 2027, 90% backstop, delivery September 2028 to May 2029, termination right.
- BKV Corporation, "BKV Announces Power Generation Equipment Supply Contract Backed by Agreement with a Leading Investment-Grade Hyperscaler", 7 Oct 2026. About 1,200 MW, equipment list, hyperscaler as intended offtaker, CEO comment.
