In the United States, long waits for a grid connection are pushing more and more developers to build their own power plant next to the data center. A 2026 Cleanview study counts 59 such projects, with about 90 GW announced, more than a quarter of the data center capacity planned in the country. 92% of them were announced since early 2025. The question is now reaching France: can you, and should you, do the same?
DOES YOUR SITUATION LOOK LIKE ONE OF THESE?
1. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE US
With combined-cycle turbines hard to get, developers use whatever is available: truck-mounted gas generators, aeroderivative turbines, reciprocating engines, refurbished turbines. Efficiency comes second: bringing a data center online a few years earlier is worth far more than the extra fuel.
About 2 GW operating by mid-2026, just over 2%
36% of the capacity is permitted, 60% exists only as announcements
Source: Cleanview, 2026
The main brake is not equipment but permits. In New Mexico, a refused gas pipeline put Oracle's Stargate project in difficulty (see our analysis). In New Jersey, an air permit is slow to come for a 400 MW gas plant meant to power a data center.
2. WHY THE MODEL TRANSLATES POORLY TO FRANCE
The French grid is low-carbon. Replacing mostly nuclear and renewable electricity with gas burned on site sharply worsens the data center's carbon footprint, and its indicators for customers and lenders.
An on-site plant is a classified installation. Combustion plants fall under declaration, registration or authorisation depending on their thermal input; above 50 MW thermal, a full environmental authorisation is required, with an impact assessment and a public inquiry. See data center permits in France.
Above 20 MW thermal, the EU emissions trading system applies. Every tonne of CO2 has a price, which weighs heavily on a plant running around the clock. Medium combustion plants are also subject to emission limits.
The gas has to get there. A plant of several tens of MW needs a gas network connection, with its own timelines and permits.
Local acceptance. A thermal plant, with its noise and emissions, changes how residents and officials see a project. The challenges in our opposition tracker already focus on water, noise and energy.
3. WHEN ON-SITE POWER MAKES SENSE IN FRANCE
As a temporary solution, to start before the final grid connection arrives, for a limited period and with the permitting framework clarified upfront.
As a complement to a grid connection: battery storage, solar, or dispatchable generation to cover peaks. See hybrid projects and UPS vs BESS.
With other technologies, such as fuel cells, whose framework and economics are still to be assessed case by case (see our article on fuel cells).
In every case, the question belongs to site selection and the grid connection request, not to the moment the schedule has already slipped. And in France the main route remains the grid: the May 2026 law lets the minister ask RTE to reserve capacity for very large projects (see PINM status).
Sources: Cleanview, "Bypassing the Grid: How Data Center Developers Are Building Their Own Power Plants", 2026 (59 projects, about 90 GW); French classified installations nomenclature (heading 2910 and related headings); Directive 2003/87/EC on the EU emissions trading system (combustion installations above 20 MW thermal); Directive (EU) 2015/2193 on medium combustion plants; RTE figures of May 2026. Thresholds and regimes should be checked against the texts in force for each configuration. This article is general information, not legal advice.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can a data center generate its own power in France?
Yes, but an on-site combustion plant is a classified installation, subject to declaration, registration or authorisation depending on its size, and to the EU emissions trading system above 20 MW thermal. It is an energy project in its own right.
Why are US data centers building their own power plants?
Because grid connection waits are very long and bringing a data center online earlier is very valuable. But according to Cleanview, only about 2 GW of the 90 GW announced was operating by mid-2026, largely because of permits.
Does on-site power make sense in France?
Mostly as a temporary solution while waiting for the grid connection, or as a complement. As a permanent base load, it worsens the carbon footprint compared with the French grid and adds permits.
Is a grid connection still needed?
In the vast majority of cases, yes: for security of supply, for the final capacity and for the value of the asset. On-site power comes as a complement or a bridge.