Data Center POST had the opportunity to connect with Scott Yappen , a Senior Business Development Manager at Wärtsilä with over 20 years of experience providing data centers with on-site power solutions. He has extensive experience modeling AI load profiles and applying highly reliable power quality solutions using Wärtsilä’s scalable 10-20+ MW medium-speed reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE), stored energy systems (BESS), and energy management control software (GEMS).

He also has career experience with gas turbines, fuel cells, solar PV, wind turbines, UPS, nuclear, combined heat and power (CHP), waste heat recovery, steam, and absorption cooling systems.  Scott is a certified data center energy practitioner (DCEP) and holds an M.S. Management of Technology degree from New York University and BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

What does your company do?  

Wärtsilä Energy leads the transition to a 100% renewable energy future by providing flexible engine power plants, energy storage systems, and optimization software that accelerate decarbonization. We deliver fuel-efficient engine power plants that provide reliable, low-emission on-site power for data centers and other primary power needs.

What problems does Wärtsilä solve in the market? 

Across the United States, a once-in-a-generation surge in digital power demand is reshaping how energy infrastructure is planned, financed, and deployed. Data center growth, accelerated by AI, cloud expansion, and hyperscale development, is driving unprecedented pressure on grids, utilities, and developers. Wärtsilä is helping address this challenge by providing fast-to-market, firm, flexible power solutions, specifically reciprocating engines, that bridge delays in grid interconnection and support long-term operational resilience. Developers are increasingly turning to flexible engine-based solutions to ensure availability, avoid multi-year delays, and support new power demand models.

What are Wärtsilä’s core products or services?

Wärtsilä offers reliable, efficient, and low-emissions technology for on-site data center power supply. Wärtsilä engine power plants form an off-grid system that offers reliable, fuel-efficient, sustainable, and future-proof primary power. Our power plants consist of 10-20+ MW engines that can provide 750+ MW of power.

What markets do you serve?

Wärtsilä primarily serves the global energy and marine markets, providing advanced technologies, lifecycle solutions, and services focused on decarbonization. Key segments include power plant technologies, energy storage, marine propulsion, and ship-related services for commercial and industrial customers worldwide.

What challenges does the global digital infrastructure industry face today?

Revenue for AI data centers is limited by access and speed to power. Traditional utility grid power supply may not be available at the scale demanded or in the timeframe required.  Other challenges include mitigating risks related to power output reliability, load volatility, CapEx and OpEx cost control, and ensuring equipment performance to guarantee ROI. Off-grid solutions such as Wärtsilä RICE are filling the power imbalance and solving these challenges.

How is Wärtsilä adapting to these challenges?

Wärtsilä has expanded its RICE offerings to data center developers, recently marking the first use of the company’s highly proven 34SG model in a data center application. Currently, our engines offer modular scalability for 100-750+ MW.  In less than one year, Wärtsilä has announced five major U.S. data center-related orders, totaling 2.4 GW of power capacity:

  • April 2026: 790 MW order in Texas, the next Data Center Alley
  • April 2026: 412 MW of engine power to support a major new hyperscale data center project in Ohio
  • January 2026: 429 MW for a power plant serving a data center, owned and operated by a U.S. investor-owned utility
  • November 2025: 507 MW for a U.S. data center project
  • July 2025: 282 MW for a new Ohio data center project

What are Wärtsilä’s key differentiators?

Data center developers are increasingly turning to flexible engine‑based solutions to ensure availability, avoid multi‑year delays, and support new power‑demand models. Wärtsilä’s modular engine plants operate with extremely high reliability, scaling rapidly as data‑center loads grow. They ramp quickly, use significantly less water and fuel than many traditional alternatives, and offer a dependable foundation at a time when power continuity is non‑negotiable for AI and cloud operators.

Wärtsilä off-grid and near-grid engine solutions are engineered for future fuel readiness. Engines run on natural gas today and can be converted to sustainable fuels, including synthetic methane and biobased alternatives, as they become commercially viable. This positions data center operators to lower emissions over time while maintaining cost-efficient operations.

Independent analysis, including reports from Ascend Analytics and Charles River Associates,  shows that RICE plants deliver superior flexibility, economics, and firm capacity value compared to gas turbines in U.S. markets such as ERCOT. With turbine pricing rising and supply chains tightening, engine‑based power plants have become more competitive, more efficient, and more adaptable.

What can we expect to see from Wärtsilä in the future? 

We intend to significantly grow our delivery capacity for data center engines, particularly in the U.S. market, which is home to around half the world’s data centers. Growth in this industry is expected to surge over the next few years as companies race to scale computing power. Engine-based solutions will remain a cornerstone for fast, reliable, and sustainable power.  They’ll continue to be the go-to solution because of their efficiency, modular design, heat tolerance, low emissions, minimal water use, and operational flexibility.

What upcoming industry events will you be attending?

In 2026, you can find our team at several major data‑center and digital‑infrastructure events. We’ll be at Data Cloud USA in Austin, the Yotta event in Las Vegas, and the Data Center Power eXchange in Washington, DC. Our participation across these gatherings underscores our commitment to advancing data‑center power, infrastructure resilience, and next‑generation energy solutions.

Do you have any recent news you would like us to highlight?

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about your company and capabilities?

Wärtsilä’s modular approach requires far less additional installed capacity to meet the stringent availability requirements of data centres. This translates into a more attractive CapEx and lifetime cost of energy relative to aeroderivative and combined-cycle gas turbines. Wärtsilä’s engine plants operate with extremely high reliability, scaling rapidly as data‑center loads grow. They ramp quickly, use significantly less water (due to closed-loop cooling) and fuel than many traditional alternatives, and offer a dependable foundation at a time when power continuity is non‑negotiable for AI and cloud operators. Wärtsilä’s off-grid and near-grid solutions are engineered for future fuel readiness. Engines run on natural gas today and can be converted to sustainable fuels, including synthetic methane and biobased alternatives, as they become commercially viable. This positions data center operators to reduce emissions over time while maintaining cost-efficient operations. Wärtsilä engine power plants offer data center developers reliable, fuel-efficient, sustainable, and future-proof primary power.

Where can our readers learn more about Wärtsilä? 

You can learn more about Wärtsilä at www.wartsila.com/energy/engine-power-plant-solutions/flexible-baseload-power-plants/data-center-power-solutions.

How can our readers contact Wärtsilä?

You can contact us on our website, www.wartsila.com/energy/area-expertise/americas.

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About Wärtsilä Technologies

Wärtsilä delivers scalable, fuel-efficient engine power plants that ensure reliable, low-emission on-site power for data centers. We offer a fast, flexible solution for continuous operations. With greater than 50% electrical efficiency, near-zero water use, and the ability to run on sustainable fuels, Wärtsilä helps data centers meet performance and sustainability goals. Learn more at www.wartsila.com/energy.

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