Build the Watt

40

YEARS SINCE THE NRC LAST ISSUED A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR A COMMERCIAL NON-LIGHT-WATER REACTOR — UNTIL TUESDAY, WHEN TERRAPOWER’S NATRIUM PROJECT AT KEMMERER, WYOMING CLEARED THE COMMISSION VOTE

Today’s Menu

$2.4B / 1.2 GW: B&W gets full NTP on Base Electron design-build for Applied Digital AI campuses; Siemens turbines released; option for another 1.2 GW under evaluation

7 companies / all upgrades: Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, xAI sign White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge

345 MWe / 500 MWe / first in 40+ years: NRC authorizes TerraPower Kemmerer construction permit

150,000 acres / ~500 wells: WhiteHawk signs for core Haynesville minerals and royalties; close early April

$2.6B / 2.3 GW / 22 assets: NBIM + Brookfield + BCI acquire North American solar and wind portfolio; NBIM’s first North American renewables investment

$5B / 2.3M customers / 20 years: Entergy says data center agreements drive customer savings; rolls out Fair Share Plus

$1B / 2→5 mtpa / Q1 2028: Vopak delays South Africa LNG terminal FID after Eskom setback

Lead Story

B&W gets full NTP on $2.4B design-build to deliver 1.2 GW of gas generation for Applied Digital — Siemens turbines released, option for another 1.2 GW on the table

This is what “bring your own power” looks like when the order book hardens.

Babcock & Wilcox (BW) received full notice to proceed on a $2.4B design-build agreement with Base Electron, an IPP backed by Applied Digital (APLD), to deliver 1.2 GW of new generation capacity for Applied Digital’s AI Factory campuses. The project is built around four 300 MW natural gas-fired boilers and steam turbine generator systems. Siemens Energy was formally released to proceed on the turbine supply package — equipment release is where many announced projects stop being theoretical. Engineering and manufacturing are already underway. This full NTP upgrades a limited NTP signed November 2025 (then valued at over $1.5B). Base Electron is also evaluating an option for an additional 1.2 GW, not yet booked.

• $2.4B design-build; four 300 MW natural gas-fired boiler + steam turbine blocks; Siemens Energy formally released on turbines; B&W handling full EPC scope; manufacturing already underway; COD targeted end of 2028; B&W Q4 2025 earnings call March 16.

• Upgraded from a $1.5B+ LNTP signed November 2025 — scope and value both expanded on full contract release; Base Electron is an Applied Digital-founded IPP structured to own generation assets and sell power to Applied Digital AI campuses under separate PSAs; option for an additional 1.2 GW under evaluation, not yet booked.

The Headlines

Policy / Data Centers

White House lands the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — seven hyperscalers commit to build, bring, or buy their own power and cover all grid upgrade costs

• 7 companies / full new delivery upgrades: Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed the White House’s voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, agreeing to build, bring, or buy the power for their data centers and cover all new power-delivery infrastructure upgrades required to serve them.

Nuclear

NRC authorizes TerraPower’s Kemmerer construction permit — first commercial non-LWR approval in 40+ years, construction starts in weeks

• 345 MWe / 500 MWe boost / first in 40+ years: NRC authorizes issuance of TerraPower Kemmerer construction permit for the first commercial non-light-water reactor approval in more than four decades.

Upstream / Minerals

WhiteHawk signs for 150,000-acre Haynesville minerals and royalty package — ~500 producing wells, operators include Expand, Aethon, EXCO

• WhiteHawk Energy signed a definitive PSA for natural gas mineral and royalty interests across ~150,000 gross unit acres in the core Haynesville across Louisiana and East Texas; package includes ~500 producing wells and ~1,000 WIP, permitted, and undeveloped locations; operators include Expand Energy, Apex Energy, Aethon, GeoSouthern, and EXCO; close expected early April 2026; financial terms not disclosed.

• Pro forma for close: 3.5M gross unit acres, 11,000+ producing wells, 500 WIP/permitted, 8,000 undeveloped locations; sixth acquisition closed in 2026; leaning hard into gas basins with direct LNG-export adjacency as Gulf Coast export capacity ramps.

Renewables / Institutional Capital

Norway’s oil fund pays $425M for a 33.3% stake in Brookfield’s 2.3 GW North American solar and wind portfolio — NBIM’s first North American renewables investment

• Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) agreed to pay ~$425M for a 33.3% interest; total enterprise value ~$2.6B; equal ownership split between NBIM, Brookfield, and British Columbia Investment Management (BCI); agreement signed February 25, 2026.

• Portfolio: 22 operating assets totaling ~2.3 GW — 17 utility-scale solar facilities and 5 onshore wind farms across 11 states and six power markets; all assets operating, no development risk; NBIM’s first investment in North America for its renewable energy infrastructure mandate.

Utilities / Data Centers

Entergy says data center agreements deliver $5B in customer savings across 3 states — rolls out “Fair Share Plus” cost framework

• Entergy projects approximately $5B in customer savings for 2.3M customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi over 20 years; savings contingent on regulatory approval by each state PSC; agreements span nearly two years — first signed in Mississippi in 2024, latest Arkansas PSC action December 2025.

• Tenants: AWS (Mississippi), Meta (Louisiana), Google + Avaio Digital (Arkansas), Hut 8 (Louisiana); state breakdown: Mississippi $2B+, Arkansas $1.7B, Louisiana $800M; Google agreed to support construction of a 600 MW solar + 350 MWh battery facility benefiting all Entergy Arkansas customers.