Nebius swaps 400 MW of gas engines for 328 MW of gas fuel cells at Microsoft's Vineland site — permit pending

Nebius signed a five-year, $17.4 billion agreement with Microsoft in September 2025, expandable to $19.4 billion, to supply GPU capacity from Vineland, New Jersey. Epoch AI estimates the site at about 57,000 H100-equivalents on 50 MW of IT power so far, with 300 MW planned.

Because grid interconnection would take years, the site was designed to generate almost all its own electricity behind the meter: first 400 MW of Bergen reciprocating gas engines, later revised to 328 MW of Bloom Energy solid-oxide fuel cells, with about 5 MW from the grid. Fuel cells emit less NOx than engines and are somewhat more efficient, but they run on natural gas. Cleanview's tracking in early 2026 found phase-one buildings complete, behind-the-meter generation not yet operating and the air permit still pending with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Nebius told the Financial Times every capacity tranche had been delivered on time.

The contrast with Nebius's European estate is stark: Mäntsälä in Finland runs on free cooling with a PUE of 1.15 in its best months and exported 19.5 GWh of waste heat to the town's district heating in 2025, and the company buys 100% renewable electricity in Iceland, France and the UK.