OpenAI’s recent announcement that it will help develop what could become one of the largest fossil-fueled power plants in the United States highlights the scale of the energy investments Big Tech and its financiers are chasing in the AI era. The project also involves Japan’s SoftBank, the U.S. government, and Nvidia, and represents a pronounced example of the “bring your own power” off-grid approach to data centers promoted by the Trump administration as a way to satisfy AI’s electricity appetite without increasing rates for other consumers.
Such large, market-exposed power projects carry big risks of turning into multibillion-dollar failures. Jeff Jenkins, co-founder of Louisiana-based private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners, points to the early 2000s as a cautionary precedent: many investors then lost substantial sums building power plants after anticipated demand growth from deregulation failed to materialize.
Jenkins accepts that the AI boom appears more solid this time (and many Wall Street leaders, including Larry Fink, seem to agree), but he says he prefers investments whose returns are effectively guaranteed by regulation.
Why regulated markets appeal
U.S. electricity markets differ by state. In deregulated states such as Ohio — where the OpenAI-linked project is planned — power producers compete on price driven by supply and demand. By contrast, in regulated states like Louisiana or Florida utilities operate as monopolies and rates are set through formal regulatory processes. Returns in regulated markets are typically modest but predictable.
Historically, a barrier for investors was that large regulated utilities rarely sold assets, limiting acquisition opportunities. Jenkins says that is changing: utilities such as Duke Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) need to raise billions for their own AI-related investments and increasingly are selling non-core pieces of their regulated businesses, often on favorable terms to buyers.
Bernhard Capital Partners has completed about half a dozen acquisitions of regulated gas and electric utilities nationwide over the past two years, Jenkins said. He cited a Louisiana utility purchase that includes a deal with Meta to build a new gas-fired plant for the Delta Forge 1 data center.
"This is totally unique from an investor standpoint, because people haven’t seen these assets [for sale] in 20 years," Jenkins said. "When you can buy a regulated monopoly at a discount, you do it."
Risks and political implications
The inflow of private capital into utilities is notable: global private equity investment in the sector exceeded $69 billion in 2025, about 50% higher than the prior year. That surge raises several concerns.
First, there are climate implications, since most of the new hyperscale projects are expected to be gas-powered. Second, the issue is politically sensitive: in an election year energy prices will be under scrutiny, and regulated utilities in particular will face pressure to demonstrate they can isolate the incremental costs of serving new data centers rather than spreading them across general ratepayers.
A Meta spokesperson referred to a statement from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry saying the Delta Forge project is "committed to the principles outlined in President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge."
A buy-low, sell-high strategy
Jenkins is already looking beyond the current cycle. He predicts that after the major building phase for AI infrastructure concludes, many of the same utilities will want to repurchase assets. When that happens, private equity buyers such as Bernhard hope to sell those assets back at a markup — a strategy that helps explain their current appetite for regulated utilities.
In short, the OpenAI-linked power project underscores how large tech-driven data center needs are reshaping energy markets, while part of the financial sector shifts toward regulated utility assets perceived as lower-risk and more predictable investments.
