Calgary-based Enerflex has been contracted to design, engineer, fabricate and assemble more than one gigawatt of natural gas-fired power generation units for a single large data center development in North America. The company announced the award on 13 October. The units are to run behind the meter, so the campus is supplied without depending on a grid connection. Neither the customer nor the contract value was disclosed.
Two Awards In Two Weeks
The order comes twelve days after an award of about 450 MW that Enerflex announced on 1 October. Together with other awards, the company now counts more than 1.75 GW of behind-the-meter generation in its backlog, with deliveries running through 2028. According to TIKR, the earlier release put the first equipment deliveries in 2027. Enerflex says the projects will be built in its North American manufacturing operations, and it has authorised about $100 million to expand its Engineered Systems facilities, of which $15 million sits in this year's capital spending guidance.
Chief executive Paul Mahoney linked the orders to growing demand for prime power that does not need a grid connection, driven by AI and digital infrastructure. The company also sees follow-on work in installation, commissioning and aftermarket service. The market liked the news: Enerflex shares rose about 13 % on the day, TIKR reports, and CIBC upgraded the stock. The third-quarter report should be the first chance to see what the new backlog is worth in dollars.
What the release leaves open is the hardware itself. It does not name the engine or turbine maker behind the units, the unit rating or how many units make up the gigawatt.
A Packager's Order, Not An Engine Maker's
Many of the large on-site power orders for data centers reported this year were announced by the engine and turbine makers themselves, such as the Wärtsilä engine plant booked earlier this month. Enerflex is better known for gas compression and processing packages, and this award shows how much of the work now moves to the companies that turn engines or turbines into complete, skid-mounted power units ready to set on a pad.
For the people who will run such a campus, behind the meter and prime power change the duty completely. A standby set may see a few dozen hours a year. A unit that carries a data hall around the clock sees thousands, in every season, and it has no grid behind it when one trips. Maintenance has to be planned so that units come out of service in turn without dropping capacity, and the auxiliaries - fuel gas conditioning, lube oil, cooling - have to be reachable while the neighbouring units keep running. The site's hottest afternoons matter more than for a standby plant, because the units must deliver full output on exactly those days.
A gigawatt delivered by 2028 is also a lot of factory output in a short window. Buyers following this market will want to know how the delivery slots are split between the customers on that backlog.
Sources: Enerflex (Form 6-K, U.S. SEC), TIKR
