Caterpillar, Joule, and Wheeler to Collaborate on Massive Data Center Project
Joule Capital Partners, Caterpillar Inc., and Wheeler Machinery Co. announced an agreement to power Joule’s High Performance Compute Data Center campus in Utah. Joule, a next-generation infrastructure company, said it aims to create the largest single campus in Utah and operate the most advanced data centers in the world.
This initiative will provide four gigawatts of total energy to the center of the Intermountain West. The project will provide prime power and integrated combined cooling heat and power (CCHP) solutions with a by-design liquid cooling architecture. Powered by a fleet of Caterpillar’s latest G3520K generator sets and support equipment, the distributed generation system produces electricity and captures waste heat to power and cool next-generation, high-density server systems.
The solution includes 1.1 gigawatt hours of grid forming battery energy storage along with backup power generation served by diverse fuel sources. Thanks to Caterpillar’s expanding U.S.-based manufacturing footprint, the full generation package can be delivered ahead of most other generation technologies. This speed-to-power advantage is critical for meeting the explosive growth in demand for compute capacity.
Beyond the gensets, this fully integrated system includes the controls, switchgear, inverters, energy storage solutions, CCHP and more, providing a complete power solution for the Joule data center and a competitive advantage for Joule’s tenants. Caterpillar and Wheeler will also provide service and support for the products and solutions, ensuring uptime and availability targets are met.
“This project represents the core of Joule’s mission—to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) ready compute capacity by pairing world-class data center campuses with reliable, on-demand power,” said David Gray, president of Joule Capital Partners. “By combining Caterpillar’s advanced energy systems with Wheeler’s local expertise, we can bring gigawatt-scale capacity to market faster and more efficiently than ever before, ensuring our tenants have the power and reliability they need to thrive in the next generation of high-performance computing.”
“Caterpillar is uniquely positioned to tackle the growing energy needs for artificial intelligence and the evolving needs of modern infrastructure. This project is a perfect example of how we can deliver fast, reliable power generation to our customers through integrated energy solutions," said Melissa Busen, senior vice president of electric power at Caterpillar Inc. “We are proud to work with Joule and Wheeler to help bring this project to life.”
“This strategic alliance between Joule, Caterpillar, and Wheeler brings together world-class engineering, local expertise, and visionary energy design,” said Bryan Campbell, CEO of Wheeler Machinery Co., “We’re proud to help deliver a resilient solution ready to meet future compute demands and set a new standard for data center infrastructure.”
Learn more about Joule Capital Partners here: https://joulecapitalpartners.com/.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.