Amazon behind massive private gas plant for new data centers
The project would let Amazon power its AI campus off-grid with gas turbines that could emit 33 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, permits show.
- Amazon is developing a data center campus in Pecos County, Texas, featuring an on-site natural gas power plant permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, potentially making it the country's largest single source of climate pollution.
- High demand for artificial intelligence has triggered a data center boom, with facilities seeking 474 gigawatts of electricity—approximately 90 percent of new power requests on the Texas grid—prompting tech companies to invest in fossil fuel sources.
- The United States has at least 82 data center-linked gas generators in development, which could collectively emit enough carbon dioxide in one year to rival the output of half the passenger cars in the country.
- Republican Governor Greg Abbott paused new data center projects in Texas this week, ordering state regulators to audit proposed facilities because, as he stated, "Texans must come first" regarding grid capacity.
- Amazon said it is "exploring opportunities for solar energy and battery storage on site" while backing 40 renewable projects in Texas and designing the Pecos facility to transition to grid-connected service eventually.
105 Articles
105 Articles
Amazon’s 7.65GW AI project reveals the enormous energy cost
Amazon’s Texas AI project could become America’s largest power plant polluterThe facility could release 33 million tons of CO₂ annuallyAmazon plans to install 35 gas turbines capable of producing 7.65 GWAmazon has confirmed plans to invest in a natural gas power plant that will supply electricity to a huge new AI data center in Texas.A New York Times report claims the facility, located in Pecos County, would use 35 natural gas turbines to genera…
Despite signing the 'Climate Pledge' in 2019, the giant Amazon has recognized that it will be one of the largest pollution generators in the United States due to its new massive Texas Data Center
Supercritical carbon dioxide generators target 1MW data center power
Data centers and other power-hungry facilities could get a new option for on-site electricity as Elemental Nuclear Energy, an advanced nuclear company, teams up with Sandia National Laboratories to develop supercritical carbon dioxide power systems. The U.S. Department of Energy has approved a Strategic Partnership Project between the two organizations to develop and demonstrate Elemental Nuclear’s supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2)-based Brayt…
Josh Shapiro’s Early Embrace of Data Centers Tests Him
Philadelphia Inquirer: “It was with this same spirit last summer that Shapiro announced the largest single private sector investment in Pennsylvania history: Amazon committed $20 billion in Pennsylvania that included two data center campuses in Luzerne and Bucks Counties. Pennsylvania scored the project because of its promise to fast-track permitting and use tax breaks for […]
Amazon’s new data center projected to be top source of US emissions
The environmental and political costs of the data center energy boom are coming into focus. Last month, Semafor reported that Amazon’s sustainability chief foresees a multi-year uptick in the company’s carbon footprint. Now, one key driver is evident: A gas-fired power plant Amazon is building to run a data center in Texas could be the largest single source of power-related emissions in the US, the New York Times reported. Separately, research b…
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