Blackstone Invests $5.34 Billion in Williams’ Behind-the-Meter Natural Gas Projects for Data Center Power

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has entered a definitive agreement with U.S. natural gas infrastructure firm Williams to fund the development of five behind-the-meter power projects, aiming to address surging electricity demand from the North American data center market. The deal underscores the growing reliance on natural gas as a bridge fuel for the AI and cloud computing boom, where grid constraints have made onsite generation increasingly attractive.

Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone and its partners will provide $5.34 billion in committed capital in exchange for a 49 percent noncontrolling equity interest in the five projects. Williams will retain a 51 percent controlling stake and holds a buyout right between years seven and 14 of the agreement, valued at Blackstone’s outstanding investment balance. The capital injection is designed to accelerate the construction of Williams’ Power Innovation portfolio, which includes the Socrates, Apollo, Aquila, Socrates the Younger, and Neo projects. These are natural gas plants, with Williams building both the generation facilities and the necessary pipeline infrastructure to fuel them.

According to reports, the Socrates project in New Albany, Ohio, which will deliver 200 megawatts of power to a Meta data center campus, is nearing completion. Socrates the Younger, also in Ohio, will add 340 megawatts, while Neo, the largest of the five at 682 megawatts, is expected to come online in the second half of 2028. The Aquila project, the only one not located in Ohio, is set for Utah, with its capacity undisclosed but anticipated to enter service in the first half of 2027. Together, the portfolio is expected to have a total capacity of approximately 2.6 gigawatts, forming what Williams describes as a turnkey energy infrastructure platform built on its natural gas supply, delivery, and power capabilities.

“With more than 2.6 gigawatts announced, our Power Innovation portfolio is scaling rapidly, and we look forward to delivering these critical energy solutions for American companies,” said Chad Zamarin, Williams president and CEO. “The investment from Blackstone and its partners enhances returns on the existing portfolio through a meaningful promote structure, while enabling us to redeploy capital into new high-return projects that will further accelerate our long-term growth.” Robert Horn, global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit at Blackstone, and Rick Campbell, senior managing director at Blackstone Credit & Insurance, added, “Williams is a leader in meeting the country’s rapidly growing power demands, including providing critical hard assets to serve the AI infrastructure buildout.”

The deal reflects a broader industry trend where major financial institutions are channeling capital into energy infrastructure to support the data center sector. Blackstone, which has a significant footprint in digital infrastructure, acquired QTS Data Centers for $10 billion in 2021 and purchased Asia-Pacific operator AirTrunk for $16.1 billion in 2025 alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The firm has also taken stakes in Vnet, Lumina CloudInfra, Copeland, Park Place Technologies, and Winthrop Technologies, as well as joint ventures with COPT and Digital Realty. For Williams, the partnership provides the necessary capital to grow its existing Power Innovation projects and support the delivery of its 6-gigawatt-plus development backlog, positioning the company to play a central role in powering America’s AI infrastructure expansion.