UK engineering firm IMI has announced it secured a contract to supply a turbine bypass system, attemperators and control valve package for a 1.5 GW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant under construction at the Franklin Farm megasite in northeastern Louisiana. The contract is reported to be valued at over $3 million.
The power plant is a two-unit combined cycle configuration being built to supply power to data centers, with Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) reported to be handled by U.S.-based Kiewit Corp. The valve systems supplied by IMI are described as key equipment controlling the pressure and temperature of the plant’s steam system, supporting stable operation during turbine startup, shutdown and load fluctuations.
The plant’s total generation capacity is 1.5 GW (two combined-cycle units), and IMI’s contract value is confirmed at over $3 million. The EPC contractor is identified as Kiewit Corp. The plant’s specific total investment figure or commercial operation target date were not disclosed in this valve supply contract announcement.
This contract is part of the wave of large-scale CCGT power plant projects underway across the United States in response to surging power demand from the expansion of AI data centers, illustrating that related equipment suppliers are also seeing contract opportunities alongside EPC contractors. For IMI, this contract is reported as an opportunity to expand its footprint in the U.S. data center-linked power project market.
This contract illustrates that large-scale CCGT new-build projects underway in the United States are translating into actual equipment order stages, suggesting that large gas power projects targeting data center power demand are providing substantial contract opportunities not only for EPC contractors but also for specialized equipment suppliers such as valve and control system manufacturers. The United States has recently seen a bifurcated pattern, with small-scale, rapidly deployable generation such as Kodiak Gas Services’ behind-the-meter gas power for a Texas data center proceeding alongside large-scale CCGT new-build projects such as this Franklin Farm plant. This reflects how different power solutions are being pursued in parallel depending on the nature of hyperscalers’ power demand — urgency versus long-term stability — suggesting that equipment suppliers of valves, turbines and control systems have contract opportunities open across both project types.
Whether the mechanical completion and commercial operation targets for the Franklin Farm CCGT project will be formalized is the first point to confirm. It is also worth watching whether further details will be disclosed on which manufacturers Kiewit Corp. has awarded other equipment packages for this project, such as gas turbines and steam turbines. Whether additional similar data center-linked CCGT projects will be announced in the Louisiana region also warrants further confirmation.