PGE has five 500kW diesel generators in stock right now at our Santa Clarita yard — two Cummins DFEK packages powered by the QSX15, one brand-new Caterpillar D500 GC with the C15 engine and factory warranty, and two Doosan G570 rental-grade portable units. Pricing starts at $79,500 for the Cummins units and tops out at $135,000 for the new CAT. Every unit is 480V, 3-phase, 60Hz, Tier 2, and enclosed. This guide walks through each platform, compares the three engine families head to head, and helps you figure out which 500kW generator fits your application and budget. Call (818) 484-8550 or browse the individual listings below.
If you polled every generator dealer in North America and asked which single kilowatt rating moves the most units, 500kW would be at or near the top. There is a reason for that, and it has nothing to do with coincidence.
A 500kW generator produces 625 KVA at a 0.8 power factor. At 480 volts, 3-phase, that is roughly 752 amps of continuous current. That output covers a specific band of commercial and light industrial loads that an enormous number of facilities fall into:
The other reason 500kW dominates: logistics. A 500kW enclosed generator weighs 14,000-20,000 pounds depending on the package, fits on a standard flatbed trailer, and can be rigged with a 15-25 ton crane. You do not need a 100-ton crane and a police escort to get it on site. Compare that to a 2000kW unit that weighs 50,000+ pounds and requires structural engineering just to place the concrete pad. At 500kW, the equipment is serious enough for real commercial loads but manageable enough that installation does not become its own capital project.
PGE has been selling generators out of our Santa Clarita yard long enough to know that when a buyer calls about backup power for their building, their engineering firm, or their facility, the conversation lands on 500kW more often than any other size. Right now we have five units at that rating from three different manufacturers, and each one fills a different slot in the market.
Here is what PGE currently has in the 500kW class. All five are diesel, all five are 480V/3-phase/60Hz, all five are EPA Tier 2, and all five are enclosed. The differences are in the engine platform, condition, hours, enclosure type, and price.
GS4853-1 and GS4853-2 are matching Cummins DFEK generator sets powered by the QSX15 diesel engine. Both are rated 500kW standby, 625 KVA, 1800 RPM. Both have approximately 500 hours on the meter. Both include PowerCommand digital control panels, 800-amp main breakers, jacket water heaters, base fuel tanks, and sound-attenuated weatherproof enclosures. Dimensions are 235 inches long by 83 inches wide by 112 inches high. Price on each is $79,500.
Having two identical units matters. If you are building a paralleled standby system, buying a matched pair eliminates the headaches that come with paralleling different platforms — different governors, different load sharing characteristics, different ramp rates. These two were built to run together.
The GS4852 is a new-surplus Caterpillar D500 GC generator set with the C15 engine. It has zero hours. The factory warranty is intact. This unit is rated 500kW standby, 625 KVA, 480V, 60Hz, 1800RPM. It ships with a GC 1.2 digital control panel, 800-amp circuit breaker, jacket water heater, 868-gallon UL-listed base fuel tank, and a Level 2 sound-attenuated enclosure. Dimensions are 233 inches long by 64 inches wide. Price is $135,000.
A new C15 D500 GC from a CAT dealer with standard lead time runs $180,000-$220,000 depending on configuration and region. This unit is new surplus — it was manufactured, never commissioned, and is available for immediate delivery at a significant discount to the dealer channel price. That 868-gallon fuel tank is worth noting. At 75% load, a C15 burns roughly 26 gallons per hour, giving you 33+ hours of runtime on a single fill. That is a full day and a half without calling a fuel truck.
GS4839-1 is rated at 456kW prime / 500kW standby with approximately 8,751 hours. GS4839 carries the same 456kW prime / 570 KVA rating with approximately 8,803 hours. Both are powered by Cummins QSX15 engines — the same engine platform as the DFEK units above, packaged in a Doosan rental-grade mobile enclosure.
Both G570 units include DeepSea MKII parallel-capable control panels, 1600-amp auto breakers for parallel capability, dual-wall UL-listed fuel tanks, and sound-attenuated enclosures. Dimensions on each are 198 inches by 62 inches by 95 inches. Price on each is $89,000. Tandem-axle running gear is available — call for pricing.
These are ex-rental fleet units. 8,750 hours on a rental-grade Doosan is not the same as 8,750 hours on a standby unit that sat in a parking lot and exercised once a week. Rental fleet generators get maintained by the book because rental companies cannot afford downtime. PGE has a full guide on the Doosan portable generator lineup if you want the complete G-Series breakdown.
| Unit / SKU | Engine | kW Rating | Hours | Enclosure | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cummins DFEK QSX15 (GS4853-1) | Cummins QSX15 — 15L inline 6 | 500kW / 625 KVA | ~500 hrs | Sound Attenuated / Weather Enclosed | |
| Cummins DFEK QSX15 (GS4853-2) | Cummins QSX15 — 15L inline 6 | 500kW / 625 KVA | ~500 hrs | Sound Attenuated / Weather Enclosed | |
| NEW CAT C15 D500 GC (GS4852) | CAT C15 ACERT — 15.2L inline 6 | 500kW / 625 KVA | 0 hrs (New) | Level 2 Sound Attenuated | |
| Doosan G570 (GS4839-1) | Cummins QSX15 — 15L inline 6 | 456kW prime / 500kW standby | ~8,751 hrs | Mobile / Rental Grade | |
| Doosan G570 (GS4839) | Cummins QSX15 — 15L inline 6 | 456kW prime / 570 KVA | ~8,803 hrs | Mobile / Rental Grade |
The Cummins QSX15 is a 15-liter, inline 6-cylinder, turbocharged and aftercooled diesel engine with electronic fuel injection. Bore is 137mm, stroke is 169mm, displacement is 912 cubic inches. At the 500kW standby rating in a DFEK genset package, it produces approximately 680 brake horsepower at 1800 RPM.
What makes the QSX15 the default choice at 500kW is parts availability and service network. Cummins has more authorized service centers in North America than any other diesel engine manufacturer. If your QSX15 throws a fault code at 2 AM on a Saturday, you can get a Cummins tech on-site faster than any other brand in most markets. The PowerCommand control panel on the GS4853-1 and GS4853-2 units adds remote monitoring capability, programmable load shed, and digital fault logging — all standard from the factory.
Fuel consumption at 100% load runs approximately 36-37 gallons per hour. At 75% load — where most standby generators actually operate during a utility outage — that drops to roughly 28 gallons per hour. Top-end overhaul interval on the QSX15 in generator service is 12,000-15,000 hours depending on duty cycle and oil analysis trends. A major (in-frame) overhaul typically falls in the 20,000-24,000 hour range. With 500 hours on GS4853-1 and GS4853-2, these engines have not even completed their initial break-in schedule.
The DFEK designation is the Cummins genset package model for a 500kW unit with the QSX15. The “D” denotes diesel, and the remaining letters identify the specific package configuration. These are integrated packages where Cummins manufactured and tested the complete generator set — engine, alternator, controls, and enclosure — as a single unit. That matters because it means warranty and service are single-source through Cummins, not split between an engine manufacturer and a packager.
The Caterpillar C15 is a 15.2-liter, inline 6-cylinder diesel engine with ACERT technology — Caterpillar’s proprietary combustion management system that controls emissions at the point of combustion rather than relying exclusively on aftertreatment. Bore is 137mm, stroke is 171mm, displacement is 928 cubic inches. The C15 at 500kW produces similar horsepower to the QSX15 but with a slightly different torque curve that CAT engineers optimized for generator duty.
The GS4852 in PGE’s inventory is the D500 GC package — Caterpillar’s current-generation 500kW genset offering. The GC 1.2 control panel is one of the better digital controllers on the market, with a color touchscreen, integrated power metering, and the ability to parallel up to 32 generators without external equipment. The Level 2 sound-attenuated enclosure brings noise levels down to 75 dBA at 7 meters — quiet enough for hospital campuses and commercial office parks where noise ordinances matter.
Fuel consumption at 100% load with radiator fan runs about 33.6 gallons per hour. At 75% load, that drops to roughly 26 gallons per hour. The C15 is slightly more fuel efficient than the QSX15 at comparable load levels, which adds up over thousands of operating hours in prime power or extended outage scenarios.
The factory warranty on GS4852 is the key differentiator. A new CAT generator from a dealer comes with a standard 2-year warranty on the package and a 5-year or 4,000-hour warranty on the engine (whichever comes first). That coverage transfers with this unit. For healthcare facilities, financial institutions, and government installations that require warranty coverage for compliance or risk management purposes, the new CAT C15 unit solves a problem that no used generator can. And at $135,000 vs. the $180,000-$220,000 you would pay through a CAT dealer, the savings are real.
The Doosan G570 is a purpose-built rental and portable power generator. It was designed from the ground up for the rental market, which means every component was selected for field serviceability and durability under harsh conditions. The G570 is the largest portable diesel generator in the Doosan lineup, and it fills a niche that the Cummins DFEK and CAT D500 GC were not built for: mobile power that can be towed to a job site, plugged in, and pulled out when the job is done.
Both GS4839-1 and GS4839 are powered by the same Cummins QSX15 engine found in the DFEK units. Same 15-liter displacement, same electronic fuel injection, same overhaul intervals. The difference is in the packaging. Doosan wrapped that QSX15 in a rental-grade enclosure with forklift pockets, a trailer-mountable frame, dual-wall fuel tanks for spill containment, and a DeepSea MKII control panel with parallel capability built in.
That parallel capability is significant. The 1600-amp auto breaker and DeepSea MKII controller on these units mean you can parallel two G570s together for 1000kW of portable power without buying a separate paralleling switchboard. For construction sites, temporary event power, disaster recovery, or any application where you might need to scale capacity up or down, that flexibility is built into the price.
At 8,750 and 8,803 hours respectively, these Doosan units are in the middle of their useful lives. The QSX15 platform will go 20,000+ hours before it needs a major overhaul, and rental fleet maintenance programs are typically more rigorous than private ownership because the rental company’s revenue depends on uptime. PGE published a full breakdown of the Doosan portable generator line including the G570’s specs, fuel capacity, and weight. Check that guide if you want the deep dive on the platform.
All three platforms produce 500kW at 480V/60Hz. All three use inline 6-cylinder diesel engines in the 15-liter class. All three are Tier 2. On paper they look interchangeable. In practice, each one fits a different buyer profile.
Hospital standby, data center, or any facility that requires warranty coverage: Buy the new CAT C15 (GS4852). The factory warranty satisfies insurance underwriters, Joint Commission requirements for healthcare, and corporate risk management policies. The 868-gallon fuel tank provides 33+ hours of runtime. The Level 2 enclosure meets most noise ordinances. Zero hours means zero risk of inherited problems.
Commercial building standby, industrial backup, or any permanent installation on a budget: Buy one or both of the Cummins DFEK units (GS4853-1 / GS4853-2). At $79,500 each with only 500 hours, these are the best dollar-per-kilowatt value in PGE’s current 500kW inventory. The Cummins service network is unmatched. If you need a paralleled pair for N+1 redundancy, buying both units from the same lot ensures identical configuration.
Construction, rental fleet, temporary power, disaster recovery, or mobile applications: Buy one or both Doosan G570 units (GS4839-1 / GS4839). The rental-grade enclosure, trailer-mountable frame, and parallel capability make these units purpose-built for mobile power. Add running gear and you can tow them with a standard commercial truck. The $89,000 price point for a 500kW portable unit with parallel capability is well below what a new G570 costs.
If you need more power: PGE stocks generators up to 2000kW+. Check our CAT 3512 inventory for 1000kW+ units, or see the Cummins QST30 1000kW listing and Detroit Diesel/MTU 1000kW pair for the next step up.
The used 500kW diesel generator market in 2026 breaks down roughly like this:
New 500kW generators from CAT, Cummins, or Kohler dealers list between $175,000 and $250,000 depending on brand, enclosure level, fuel tank size, and regional pricing. Lead times currently run 12-20 weeks. The used market exists because that lead time and that price point push buyers toward units that are available now.
When you inspect a used 500kW unit — any brand — here is the checklist that separates smart buyers from expensive lessons:
PGE load bank tests every unit on our lot before sale. If you are buying from another source, bring this list. For more on enclosure types and what each configuration means for your installation, see our enclosure comparison guide.
All five generators are sitting at our yard at 26764 Oak Ave, Santa Clarita, CA 91351. You can schedule a walk-through, request photos of specific components, or arrange a witnessed load bank test. Call (818) 484-8550 to discuss any of these units, or click through to the individual listings to see full photo galleries and specs:
PGE also buys industrial generators. If you are replacing an existing unit and want to trade in or sell outright, submit through our Sell Your Equipment page or call us directly. We handle freight and logistics nationwide.
A 500kW generator at 480V/3-phase produces 625 KVA and roughly 752 amps. That is enough to back up a 100,000-200,000 square foot office building, a mid-size hospital or surgical center, a manufacturing production line, a retail distribution center, or a water treatment facility. The rule of thumb is 1 watt per square foot for general office space and 3-5 watts per square foot for industrial facilities. A 200,000 sq ft office building at 2 watts per square foot peaks at 400kW — well within a 500kW generator’s capacity with room for surge loads.
Depends on what you are paying for. The engines are comparable — both are 15-liter inline 6-cylinder diesels with electronic fuel injection, similar fuel consumption, and similar overhaul intervals. The CAT C15 is slightly more fuel efficient (33.6 gal/hr vs. 36.7 gal/hr at 100% load). The real premium on GS4852 is for new condition and factory warranty, not for the CAT brand itself. A used C15 with similar hours to the Cummins DFEK units would trade at a similar price point — maybe 10-15% more for the CAT name. For a deeper engine comparison, we covered the C15 vs. QSX15 head to head in a separate post.
It is mid-life for the engine and normal for a rental-fleet return. The Cummins QSX15 engine in the G570 has a top-end overhaul interval of 12,000-15,000 hours and a major overhaul interval of 20,000-24,000 hours. At 8,750 hours, these engines have 3,000-6,000 hours before a top-end and 11,000-15,000 hours before a major. Rental companies typically maintain units on strict schedules because downtime costs them revenue. Ask PGE for the maintenance records on GS4839-1 or GS4839 to see what has been done.
Yes, but it adds cost and complexity. Paralleling two generators requires matched voltage, frequency, and phase rotation — plus compatible load-sharing controls. Paralleling two identical units (like the matched Cummins pair GS4853-1/GS4853-2 or the matched Doosan pair GS4839-1/GS4839) is straightforward because the controls, governors, and voltage regulators are the same. Mixing a CAT with a Cummins requires a third-party paralleling controller and careful commissioning. If paralleling is part of your plan, buy a matched pair.
Budget 20-35% of the generator cost for installation. For a $79,500 Cummins DFEK, that means $16,000-$28,000 on top. The major line items: concrete pad ($3,000-$8,000), rigging and crane ($2,000-$5,000), electrical connection and ATS ($5,000-$15,000 depending on whether you need a new transfer switch), fuel piping ($1,000-$3,000), exhaust piping if enclosed in a building ($2,000-$5,000), permitting ($500-$2,000), and commissioning/load bank test ($1,500-$3,000). Mobile Doosan units skip most of this — you park them, connect a cam-lock cable set, and they are producing power in 30 minutes.
Yes. PGE arranges freight anywhere in the lower 48 states. The Cummins DFEK and CAT D500 GC units ship on a standard flatbed — they weigh 14,000-18,000 lbs and fit well within standard flatbed dimensions. The Doosan G570 units can either ship on a flatbed or, if equipped with running gear, can be towed directly to your site. Call (818) 484-8550 for a freight quote to your location. We work with specialized heavy equipment carriers who handle generator logistics daily.
Every unit listed in this guide is sitting at PGE’s yard in Santa Clarita right now. Walk the lot, request a load bank test, or get a freight quote to your site. The Cummins DFEK pair at $79,500 each, the new CAT C15 at $135,000 with factory warranty, and the Doosan G570 rental-grade portables at $89,000 each — five different ways to solve a 500kW power requirement. Call (818) 484-8550 or browse our full generator inventory online.
