Anthropic Bought Commitments for 1.7 Gigawatts of Gas Generators for $3.4 Billion, FT Reports

Since Anthropic's S-1 filing dated October 26 showed its data center plans leaning on on-site natural gas, the Financial Times has reported a specific purchase behind that strategy, and the politics around self-powered data centers have moved.

The $3.4 billion generator purchase

Anthropic bought commitments for 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty generators for about $3.4 billion in late September from OnePWR Solutions, a San Antonio, Texas-based equipment supplier, the Financial Times reported Sunday. Reuters said it was not able to verify the report immediately.

Anthropic did not acquire OnePWR, and none of the supplier's employees moved to the AI company, according to the FT's account, which cites a person familiar with the matter. The deal does include the engineering and construction capabilities needed to install the generators.

That is one outlet's reporting, resting partly on an anonymous source. Treat the figure as reported, not confirmed.

How it fits with the S-1

A separate review of the S-1 by Crypto Briefing found no single $3 billion or $3.4 billion contract devoted solely to gas generation. In that reading, Anthropic's gas exposure sits inside much larger compute and infrastructure commitments.

The largest is a $45 billion, six-year agreement with Nscale for capacity at its Monarch campus in West Virginia. That campus is to run on natural gas generators, with roughly 2 GW of on-site capacity. Anthropic's own share of the facility targets about 460 MW.

The two accounts are not necessarily in conflict. One describes an equipment purchase made in September. The other describes the contracts disclosed in the filing.

The filing itself flags fuel and transportation costs as uncapped, along with possible supply disruptions and volatile pricing as gas demand climbs across the sector. It also acknowledges that cleaner alternatives may not fit the company's timelines.

Trump's self-power mandate

On Wednesday, President Trump posted on Truth Social that "new and large, in some cases gigantic, Data Centers are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid." He also suggested companies "pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a 'dividend.'"

He gave no details on how either requirement would work. No rule or order text accompanied the post.

The post reverses the tone he took in August, when he wrote that the only reason communities would not want data centers "is if they want to end up being backwards and poor."

Trump's post follows an earlier push this year in which he got data center companies to pledge to supply or procure their own power. Those pledges have not stopped local opposition. Amazon and Meta have each pledged at least $1 billion to host communities, yet many towns and states are pursuing moratoriums on new approvals and rolling back tax exemptions that once drew such projects.

The backlash shows up in markets too. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.4% in late trading Thursday, more than 10% below its recent record, as investors worried that tougher restrictions on data center construction could slow the buildout, according to CNBC. The selloff followed Democratic midterm victories.

Anthropic's Australian foothold

Anthropic is also expanding abroad. It has signed a lease as the first major tenant of the proposed Western Downs Digital Park near Dalby, Queensland, a $22 billion project from Singaporean developer Zerra DC.

The site, behind a cattle feedlot about 260 kilometers west of Brisbane, would have four buildings each the size of five football fields. It sits above a major gas field, and the region is already an energy hub.

The project has not been formally approved. Western Downs Mayor Andrew Smith says the state government has told him the decision falls to the local council. He says he is waiting for advice from the planning department.

Smith says the project could diversify the local economy and give young people a reason to come home. "Sometimes you do need to be brave," he said, while insisting no decision has been made.

He is weighing it in a tense environment. A growing number of Australians are voicing opposition to AI, and the national government is calling for growth "with guardrails." David Masters, Anthropic's head of policy for Australia and New Zealand, told CNN the company is "working towards having significant capacity hosted in Australia."

The Western Downs council decision is the nearest concrete test of whether a host community will accept an Anthropic-anchored campus. Whether Anthropic confirms the OnePWR purchase and its terms is the open question on the gas side.

Trump's mandate has no published text. Until it does, nobody can say how it would apply to projects like Monarch.