Gas Turbine Resale Opens Outside OEM Queues

Capital Power (CPX) and Hallador Energy (HNRG) both said on their third-quarter 2026 earnings calls, held on November 2 and November 9, that a secondary market for gas turbines has opened outside the manufacturers' queues. Unused turbine packages and delivery slots are changing hands, and Hallador has already bought its equipment this way. [1][2]

Why sold-out turbine queues created a resale channel

How soon a gas plant can generate power depends largely on when it receives its gas turbines. Only a few original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build them, and buyers reserve a delivery position for a given year in advance, known as a slot. Hallador said the equipment to build power plants is sold out through 2030 and beyond. [2] GE Vernova (GEV), the industry leader, sold multiple slots for 2032 delivery in the third quarter. [3] A gas plant ordering new equipment today may not receive it until the next decade.

Meanwhile, some projects that already hold slots have stalled. Capital Power said hundreds of moratoriums restricting data centers are now in place across the US, and it tied slot swapping to slots that other counterparties had taken in the chase for speed to power. [1] Holders with idle equipment or slots can swap or sell them. A developer that already has land and grid interconnection can buy that equipment and reach power years ahead of a new order, which gives other power and data-center developers that cannot wait a reason to use the same channel.

Listings, slot swaps and completed purchases

Capital Power said it has seen more credible listings of complete or unused turbine packages, though asking prices remain high. [1] It also sees some buyers swapping slots to take deliveries in 2028, 2029 and 2030. [1] Management said it has seen this pattern in earlier cycles and that it is too early to call a turn, but the signs give it more confidence that it can secure the equipment its development projects need. [1]

Hallador has already completed a purchase. It said buyers are hunting for gas turbines on the secondary market, and that is where it bought the turbines for its Turtle Creek gas project. [2] The turbines and generators were exported from the Philippines, have never been operated, are expected to arrive in the US later this year and will be refurbished by Siemens USA. [2]

Larger transfers are also taking place. According to TechCrunch, Anthropic took over gas generation equipment that OnePWR had ordered from Caterpillar (CAT), worth about $3.4 billion and roughly 1.7 GW of capacity. [4] Taken together, these cases show equipment and slots outside the OEM queue moving from listings to completed deals.

OEMs still control pricing and transfer approvals

The resale channel has not weakened OEM pricing power. GE Vernova said its third-quarter equipment orders were priced more than 20% above fourth-quarter 2025 equipment orders. [3] Baker Hughes (BKR) said any proposed transfer or sale of a reservation needs its participation and approval. [5] Caterpillar said it already moves slots among customers and has seen no change in delivery timing. [6] Scarcity sets the price of resold equipment, so whoever holds hardware can charge a premium, while the OEM keeps its approval right and continues to earn refurbishment and service work.

For now, the resale market is a marginal supplement. Capital Power itself said it sees nothing structural to suggest that the supply chain is catching up or that competing projects are falling away. [1] TransAlta (TAC) still quotes five-plus years for a large frame turbine. [7] Useful tests ahead: whether secondary asking prices come down, whether OEM slots keep moving further out, and whether Capital Power secures the equipment it needs at its target returns.

Companies exposed to turbine resale

• Solaris Energy Infrastructure (SEI): Solaris supplies power generation equipment to customers including data centers. It added about 1 GW of capacity over the past 12 months, part of it refurbished equipment, and signed gas turbine refurbishment agreements. [8] As buyers look for equipment outside OEM queues, both its equipment sourcing and its refurbishment business sit on this channel, although it has not disclosed buying or selling slots.
• FTAI Aviation (FTAI): Its FTAI Power business converts retired CFM56 aircraft engines into gas turbines of about 25 MW, targeting 100 units in 2027. [9] This is a non-OEM source of supply aimed at the developers who cannot get into the queue, but the first units are only due in the fourth quarter of 2026, so actual demand is still unproven.

Sources

[1] Drillr · Capital Power (CPX) · 2026-11-02 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[2] Drillr · Hallador Energy (HNRG) · 2026-11-09 · Q3 2026 earnings call

The equipment to build power plants is sold out through 2030 and beyond. And buyers are hunting for gas turbines on the secondary market, which is where we bought the Turtle Creek turbines.

[3] Drillr · GE Vernova (GEV) · 2026-10-28 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[4] TechCrunch · Anthropic buys about $3.4 billion of gas generation equipment · 2026-11-09 · news report · https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/09/anthropic-joins-ais-natural-gas-frenzy-buys-3-4b-worth-of-turbines/

[5] Drillr · Baker Hughes (BKR) · 2026-10-28 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[6] Drillr · Caterpillar (CAT) · 2026-10-29 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[7] Drillr · TransAlta (TAC) · 2026-11-03 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[8] Drillr · Solaris Energy Infrastructure (SEI) · 2026-11-05 · Q3 2026 earnings call

[9] Drillr · FTAI Aviation (FTAI) · 2026-02-26 · Q4 2025 earnings call

This article highlights potentially overlooked industry changes and companies. It is not a stock recommendation.