While the headlines are dominated by AI and the meteoric rise of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’, another sector is quietly booming — heavy equipment. Caterpillar’s share price is up an impressive 62.7% year-to-date.
And although Nvidia’s chips are powering the brains of new data centres, it’s Caterpillar’s machinery helping to build them — and, increasingly, Caterpillar’s diesel gensets standing by to keep them running during power outages.
On an earnings call on 29 October, CEO Joe Creed revealed that sales in the company’s power generation segment jumped 33%, “primarily due to demand for reciprocating engines for data centre applications.”
Great news for Caterpillar shareholders — but potentially bad news for the energy transition.
Globally, it’s estimated there’s already around 20 GW of standby diesel generator capacity in data centres — and that figure is rising sharply.
The Net-Zero Tension
Big hyperscalers — Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple — continue to champion bold climate targets:
Microsoft: carbon-negative by 2030
Google: 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030
Amazon Web Services (AWS): net-zero operations by 2040
Apple & Meta: net-zero across operations and supply chains by 2030
Yet the practical path is getting tougher. Since the Trump administration took office in early 2025, US federal policy has tilted towards faster permitting and reduced regulation, including relaxed constraints on fossil-fuel infrastructure and standby generator use for grid reliability.
Hyperscalers have reaffirmed their net-zero ambitions, but they face mounting headwinds:
Soaring electricity demand driven by AI growth
Slower renewable permitting processes
Changes in federal incentives
The UK Perspective
Meanwhile, the UK government is racing to approve new data centres and grid upgrades to capture the AI opportunity and stimulate economic growth. But can this ambition align with our net-zero goals?
The challenges are real:
A wide US-UK energy-price gap
High upfront costs for renewable infrastructure
Limited grid capacity delaying connections
So where does Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) fit in?
At NovAzure, we believe BESS is a key enabler — supporting grid stability, maximising renewable uptake, and reducing reliance on diesel generators.
And while we’re at it, we should ask: are new data centres and the many large industrial sheds springing up across the UK fully integrating solar generation on-site?
With so much prime farmland being converted to solar farms — potentially impacting our food security — shouldn’t we prioritise rooftops and brownfield sites, combining solar with BESS first?
