National Grid's investment arm, National Grid Ventures, has agreed to invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent, a platform developing integrated power generation and high-voltage infrastructure for large industrial and data centre customers in the United States.
The centrepiece of the deal is Project Kilby, a 2.67 gigawatt co-located power facility in West Texas being developed in a 50/50 partnership with Chevron Corporation, supplying dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data centre campus under a 20-year power purchase agreement, with first power targeted in 2028.
Critical equipment is already secured, including GE Vernova turbines, with EPC capacity reserved.
The $1.75 billion commitment sits outside National Grid's existing five-year capital programme of at least £70 billion by financial year 2031, funded from balance sheet headroom with no expected impact on its current financial framework.
A final investment decision is expected before the end of 2026.
Joulent is expected to turn free cash flow positive in the early 2030s, with proceeds available either to fund additional projects or be returned to joint venture partners.
Beyond Kilby, Joulent holds a multi-gigawatt pipeline of future projects.
Chief Executive Zoë Yujnovich described the deal as "a disciplined, partner-led investment in contracted critical infrastructure for the AI-driven large load economy" that extends National Grid's strengths in long-duration assets with contractual cash flows.
