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Supporting note · AI x Energy

Williams Project NEO: 682 MW Behind-the-Meter Gas + Storage, In Service H2 2028

Williams Companies announced Project NEO at its Q1 2026 earnings on May 5 - a 682 MW behind-the-meter gas plus battery storage facility targeted for service in H2 2028. NEO is Williams' fifth and largest commercialized Power Innovation project, part of a $9.6B portfolio under execution plus $6B in backlog.

May 25, 2026 · 3 min read

Summary

Williams Companies announced Project NEO at its Q1 2026 earnings on May 5, 2026 - Williams’ fifth commercialized Power Innovation project and its largest behind-the-meter build to date. NEO comprises 682 MW of installed capacity (gas generation paired with batteries and load-following controls) and is targeted for service in H2 2028. Q1 also delivered the Aristotle pipeline commissioning (supporting Ohio data centers, including the Socrates power innovation facility) and a signed customer agreement for NEO. Williams’ total Power Innovation portfolio: ~$9.6 billion in projects under execution with an additional $6 billion in potential projects in the backlog.

Headline Numbers

  • Project NEO: 682 MW behind-the-meter gas + battery storage
  • In service date: H2 2028
  • Williams’ BTM project count: 5 (NEO is largest)
  • Power Innovation portfolio under execution: $9.6B
  • Power Innovation backlog (potential): $6B
  • Q1 2026 commissioning: Aristotle pipeline (Ohio data center support)
  • Related project: Socrates power innovation facility (Ohio)

What’s Different About NEO

NEO pairs natural gas generation with batteries and load-following controls specifically to respond to fast-changing AI demand - while protecting both on-site systems and the broader grid. This is the architectural answer to a known AI-workload problem: GPU-driven loads ramp aggressively and unpredictably; a pure baseload gas plant cannot follow without operational damage; batteries + load-following bridges that volatility.

Conclusions

Williams’ Q1 print is the cleanest evidence that the midstream and power-innovation sector has fully committed to behind-the-meter gas-fired data center power as a structural growth segment, not a one-off experiment. With five commercialized BTM projects, $9.6B under execution, and $6B in backlog, Williams is now operating at the scale of a mid-cap regulated utility purely within the data center power vertical.

The BTM-with-batteries architecture is also important because it directly answers one of the key technical objections to BTM gas - that GPU-load volatility damages gas turbine equipment. NEO’s load-following controls plus storage demonstrate that the architecture works at scale.

Kinder Morgan reported similar themes at Q1: ~70% of future power demand in their service territory now comes from data centers; natural gas projects account for ~90% of Kinder Morgan’s project backlog and ~60% of the backlog supports power generation.

Our Thinking

Williams + Kinder Morgan together represent the midstream-led model of the BTM buildout: pipeline operators leveraging existing gas infrastructure, expanding into power generation, and selling integrated gas-and-electricity packages to hyperscalers. This is structurally different from the Chevron-Microsoft Pecos model (oil-and-gas major as power developer) and the Entergy-Meta Hyperion model (regulated utility as prime contractor).

The implication: there are now at least three distinct BTM architectures emerging in the US:

  1. Oil-major-led BTM (Chevron Pecos, NextEra-Exxon Permian): O&G major builds gas plant on associated-gas feedstock at well-head proximity
  2. Midstream-led BTM (Williams NEO, Kinder Morgan): Pipeline operator builds gas plant adjacent to existing infrastructure
  3. Regulated-utility-led “BTM” (Entergy-Meta Hyperion): Regulated utility builds dedicated capacity under cost-of-service framework

Each model fits different geography, fuel logistics, and regulatory environments. The diversity of BTM architectures is itself a sign that the model has crossed from experimental to standard - multiple parallel approaches are scaling simultaneously.

For Roman’s lens: this is the most important midstream-financial-data point in months. It confirms the Williams / Kinder Morgan / Energy Transfer trio as structural beneficiaries of the AI buildout, with backlog visibility extending to 2028 and beyond. Their multiples should recalibrate relative to traditional pipeline transportation valuation, because power-innovation revenue carries different (higher) margins and longer contract durations.

Watch

  • Williams Q2 2026 print - NEO commissioning milestones
  • Williams competitive response: does Kinder Morgan announce a similar large BTM project?
  • Energy Transfer Permian gas network expansion
  • Any midstream M&A targeting BTM capabilities
  • Customer disclosures: which hyperscaler signed NEO offtake
  • Battery component supply (BESS lead times now also stretching)
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Supporting note · AI x Energy

Williams Project NEO: 682 MW Behind-the-Meter Gas + Storage, In Service H2 2028

Williams Companies announced Project NEO at its Q1 2026 earnings on May 5 - a 682 MW behind-the-meter gas plus battery storage facility targeted for service in H2 2028. NEO is Williams' fifth and largest commercialized Power Innovation project, part of a $9.6B portfolio under execution plus $6B in backlog.

May 25, 2026 · 3 min read

Summary

Williams Companies announced Project NEO at its Q1 2026 earnings on May 5, 2026 - Williams’ fifth commercialized Power Innovation project and its largest behind-the-meter build to date. NEO comprises 682 MW of installed capacity (gas generation paired with batteries and load-following controls) and is targeted for service in H2 2028. Q1 also delivered the Aristotle pipeline commissioning (supporting Ohio data centers, including the Socrates power innovation facility) and a signed customer agreement for NEO. Williams’ total Power Innovation portfolio: ~$9.6 billion in projects under execution with an additional $6 billion in potential projects in the backlog.

Headline Numbers

What’s Different About NEO

NEO pairs natural gas generation with batteries and load-following controls specifically to respond to fast-changing AI demand - while protecting both on-site systems and the broader grid. This is the architectural answer to a known AI-workload problem: GPU-driven loads ramp aggressively and unpredictably; a pure baseload gas plant cannot follow without operational damage; batteries + load-following bridges that volatility.

Conclusions

Williams’ Q1 print is the cleanest evidence that the midstream and power-innovation sector has fully committed to behind-the-meter gas-fired data center power as a structural growth segment, not a one-off experiment. With five commercialized BTM projects, $9.6B under execution, and $6B in backlog, Williams is now operating at the scale of a mid-cap regulated utility purely within the data center power vertical.

The BTM-with-batteries architecture is also important because it directly answers one of the key technical objections to BTM gas - that GPU-load volatility damages gas turbine equipment. NEO’s load-following controls plus storage demonstrate that the architecture works at scale.

Kinder Morgan reported similar themes at Q1: ~70% of future power demand in their service territory now comes from data centers; natural gas projects account for ~90% of Kinder Morgan’s project backlog and ~60% of the backlog supports power generation.

Our Thinking

Williams + Kinder Morgan together represent the midstream-led model of the BTM buildout: pipeline operators leveraging existing gas infrastructure, expanding into power generation, and selling integrated gas-and-electricity packages to hyperscalers. This is structurally different from the Chevron-Microsoft Pecos model (oil-and-gas major as power developer) and the Entergy-Meta Hyperion model (regulated utility as prime contractor).

The implication: there are now at least three distinct BTM architectures emerging in the US:

  1. Oil-major-led BTM (Chevron Pecos, NextEra-Exxon Permian): O&G major builds gas plant on associated-gas feedstock at well-head proximity
  2. Midstream-led BTM (Williams NEO, Kinder Morgan): Pipeline operator builds gas plant adjacent to existing infrastructure
  3. Regulated-utility-led “BTM” (Entergy-Meta Hyperion): Regulated utility builds dedicated capacity under cost-of-service framework

Each model fits different geography, fuel logistics, and regulatory environments. The diversity of BTM architectures is itself a sign that the model has crossed from experimental to standard - multiple parallel approaches are scaling simultaneously.

For Roman’s lens: this is the most important midstream-financial-data point in months. It confirms the Williams / Kinder Morgan / Energy Transfer trio as structural beneficiaries of the AI buildout, with backlog visibility extending to 2028 and beyond. Their multiples should recalibrate relative to traditional pipeline transportation valuation, because power-innovation revenue carries different (higher) margins and longer contract durations.

Watch