Connect | New York // Tech Showcase: Keeping AI running smoothly with onsite generation and energy storage | Wärtsilä

Onsite power generation solutions using natural gas and other fuels have become a trusted alternative for large load data centers serving artificial intelligence (AI) and other applications. The IT compute, cooling, and other power needs of a single site can require 100-1000+ MWs of capacity and many 9’s of reliability. AI load profiles can be volatile, fluctuating wildly in milliseconds or faster. Because of this, traditional power generation is challenged to respond fast enough to maintain IT-required power quality without tradeoffs such as operation outside of the equipment “sweet spot” which may cause sub-optimal performance, emissions, fuel consumption, maintenance, and other lifecycle cost.

Wärtsilä’s hybrid power approach uses medium speed reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) together with Wärtsilä Energy Storage Systems and award-winning energy management software (GEMS) to address this challenge. The engines provide dependable and steady power, while the battery energy storage systems (BESS) dispatch power to “smooth” power fluctuations. This combination creates a stable power flow, reduces stress on equipment, and supports operation that meets environmental requirements even during the most demanding AI training cycles.

Wärtsilä’s deployed capacity of 79 GW of engines and 20 GWh of energy storage enable flexible, reliable hybrid power systems that stabilize rising AI datacenter loads, ensuring continuous, high availability operation as demand and volatility accelerate.