Gas Turbine Orders Hit Quarterly Record as Siemens Backlog Approaches 70 GW
JP Morgan data shows global Q2 bookings reached 38 GW, up 29% from Q1, as manufacturers warn production expansions cannot keep pace with demand.
Global gas turbine orders reached a record in the second quarter of 2026, with JP Morgan data showing 38 GW of new bookings in the three months to June, 29% higher than first-quarter volumes, as power demand from data centers and industrial customers continued to outpace the industry's capacity to manufacture equipment.6
Siemens Energy's fiscal third-quarter earnings call, held the week of August 3, 2026 (2026-08-03), illustrated the scale of outstanding commitments. The company said its backlog was approaching 70 GW after booking 15 GW from gas turbine orders and bringing roughly 30 additional medium-sized manufacturing units online since 2025. One manufacturer's chief executive, according to oilprice.com, said the company had been targeting a 30% increase in production capacity but acknowledged that even this would fall short of actual demand.5,3
American utilities are ordering faster than the machines can be built. The IEA reported that U.S. companies placed orders for some 20 GW of gas turbine capacity in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Roughly 40% of all new global orders have come from the United States, with a further 35% from Europe.3
American Electric Power's commitments give a sense of individual-utility scale. AEP chairman and CEO Bill Fehrman told analysts on Thursday (2026-07-30) that the company secured 3 GW of turbine capacity in the second quarter, bringing its total secured supply deployable by 2031 to roughly 13 GW. AEP has also locked in options for a further 10 GW of turbines deliverable by 2035, Fehrman said.4
U.S. companies are collectively on track to spend roughly $50 billion on coal and gas power generation this year, according to IEA figures quoted by the Financial Times. That would mark the first time in decades that U.S. outlays on those fuels exceeded China's, with the difference estimated at around $3 billion.3
Geopolitics are reshaping access to equipment. China has blacklisted additional Mitsubishi units, according to oilprice.com, compressing the competitive field in Asian markets. Mitsubishi Power has extended its services presence elsewhere: in June 2026, the company signed a long-term parts and services agreement covering the 1,200-megawatt Ilihan Combined Cycle Power Plant in the Philippines, handled through local arm MHI Power (Philippines) Plant Services Corporation.3,2
The pricing outlook for new machines is severe. Wood Mackenzie has projected turbine prices could surge 195% by 2027, reaching $600 per kilowatt, driven by what the consultancy described as a supply squeeze from increased electrification demand.6
The aftermarket faces equivalent strain. With hundreds of GE 7FA and 7EA gas turbines approaching end-of-life thresholds, independent components supplier MD&A has spent a decade developing rotor parts as an alternative to OEM channels, with industry-wide constraints on forgings and shop capacity now well established, according to Power Magazine's May 2026 reporting.1
Given the volume of orders already booked against strained manufacturing lines, the near-term pressure point is delivery schedules. Equipment slippage that pushes gas-fired capacity additions into the early 2030s would carry real consequences for grid reliability planning and gas demand projections — particularly in U.S. regions that have already retired baseload and are counting on new combined-cycle additions to replace it.5,6