Key facts
- Wang Yunbo of the National Energy Administration told the People's Daily that waits of over five years are both an opportunity and a challenge for Chinese turbine makers.
- Dongfang Electric's agreement with Eco DC Solutions covers 30 gas turbines supporting more than 2.1 GW for Canadian data centers.
- Shanghai Electric won a turnkey contract to supply gas turbines to the Samalaju Combined Cycle Power Plant in Sarawak, Malaysia.
- JP Morgan said the United States accounted for half of new gas turbine orders in the second quarter.
China's National Energy Administration on November 12 urged the country's gas turbine manufacturers to accelerate technology development and pitch sales to overseas data centers, as Beijing targets the dominance Western firms hold in the market.
JP Morgan said earlier this year that global orders for gas turbines had reached a record high. New orders in the second quarter stood at 38 gigawatts, 29% higher than the first quarter and 71% higher than a year earlier, the investment bank said. The United States accounted for half of the new orders, JP Morgan said, as electricity demand rises with the buildout of data centers.
Gas turbine makers do not hold inventory of the machinery, which has produced shortages and wait times of more than five years in some cases. Wang Yunbo, deputy director of the market regulation department at the National Energy Administration, told the People's Daily, as carried by Bloomberg, that those waits could be "both an opportunity and a challenge" for the Chinese gas turbine manufacturing industry.
Some Chinese manufacturers have already signed overseas deals. Dongfang Electric Corporation signed an agreement with Canadian data center developer Eco DC Solutions to provide 30 Dongfang gas turbines supporting more than 2.1 GW for Canadian data centers. Earlier this year, Shanghai Electric Group secured a turnkey contract to deliver equipment to the Samalaju Combined Cycle Power Plant in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.