FirstEnergy Reserves Siemens Turbines for 1.2 GW West Virginia Plant
FirstEnergy reserved Siemens Energy turbines for a 1,200-MW West Virginia gas plant and sought bids for 3 GW more, as data center demand in its forecast reached 26 GW.
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A Siemens Energy gas turbine. The company's product image is illustrative; the exact turbine model for Maidsville is not stated in the report.
Image: Siemens Energy
Source · Press image from the Siemens Energy website, used for news reporting.
FirstEnergy said on its Oct. 28 third-quarter call that two of its utilities have reserved Siemens Energy combined-cycle turbines for a 1,200-MW gas plant in West Virginia aimed at data center load, and that they have issued a request for proposals for an initial 3 GW of additional combined-cycle turbines, according to Utility Dive and the company's quarterly SEC filing.
Company slides show 7,880 MW contracted within a 26,950 MW total forecast for 2036.
Illustration (AI-generated)
The company's long-term data center pipeline, which counts contracted and potential load through 2036, grew 4.8% to 26 GW from the second quarter, Utility Dive reported. FirstEnergy's own third-quarter slides put total data center demand at 26,950 MW by 2036, with 7,880 MW contracted. Utility Dive said contracted load rose from 6.4 GW in the second quarter. In West Virginia, demand totals about 6 GW (6,045 MW) by 2036 in the company's forecast, up from 4.3 GW three months earlier according to Utility Dive.
Chairman, president and CEO Brian Tierney said interest is broad across Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The first data centers are expected online around 2030, he said, and the hyperscalers and established developers are planning well beyond that.
What FirstEnergy Reserved for Maidsville
Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison are asking the West Virginia Public Service Commission for permission to build the Maidsville Energy Center, which FirstEnergy's 10-Q puts at approximately $2.7 billion in estimated capital investment, covering a 1,200-MW combined-cycle gas plant and 70 MW of solar across three projects. The filing describes a reservation agreement with Siemens Energy for the turbines, with delivery in 2030.
Tierney said he expects the commission to issue a certificate in the fourth quarter, and that the other major contracts should be signed shortly after the order. He called Maidsville the first of a broader set of opportunities in the state. The 3 GW request for proposals covers turbines and major equipment for plants that would serve data center load in West Virginia.
FirstEnergy's integrated resource plan proposes the 1,200-MW plant by 2031, so it is years from serving load. Turbine lead times are long across the market: Voltgrid reported that Mitsubishi Power now quotes gas turbine deliveries reaching around 2031.
Bridge Power and Transmission Costs
Because a plant of this size is years away, FirstEnergy is studying bridge generation that could be built quickly while transmission and larger plants are under construction. Tierney named reciprocating engines, fuel cells and batteries as options, and said the smaller assets could later move to other large-load projects. Customers wanting a 1-GW campus are asking whether they can start with a building of about 100 MW, he said.
Utilities are not alone in turning to gas. Voltgrid has also covered the onsite gas pipeline for data centers, which reached 110 GW.
FirstEnergy said it expects data center demand across its six-state footprint to lift transmission investment by at least 25% over its $19 billion 2026-2030 plan; Tierney put that at $4.75 billion, according to Utility Dive. The company estimates that each gigawatt of data center load needs roughly $250 million in transmission upgrades.
What a Turbine Reservation Secures
FirstEnergy lists the Siemens Energy reservation apart from the other major contracts, which it expects to finalize only after the West Virginia commission rules. The reservation holds the 2030 delivery slot but is not the whole equipment package.
The utilities filed for the plant's certificate (CPCN) on Feb. 13, 2026, and hearings ran July 16 and 17. FirstEnergy says it is negotiating with a data center customer to be the plant's long-term off-taker, with no agreement signed yet.
What Is Not Confirmed Yet
The Maidsville certificate is still pending at the West Virginia commission, and the remaining contracts depend on it. The 3 GW request for proposals has no named bidders or sites in the report. The 26 GW figure is a company forecast of cumulative demand by 2036 that mixes contracted load with potential load, not connected demand today. The 2031 date for the plant is a proposal in the resource plan, not a commitment.
