Amazon's Massive Gas-Fired Power Plant Raises Emissions Concerns

Amazon is investing in a massive natural gas-fired power plant in West Texas to supply electricity to a data center, as technology companies increasingly turn to dedicated, on-site power facilities to meet the enormous electricity demands of artificial intelligence.

Amazon's planned Texas data-center power facility highlights the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence. [Photo: Amazon]

According to permits reviewed by The New York Times, the plant in Pecos County, Texas, would have the capacity to generate 7.65 gigawatts of electricity from 35 natural gas turbines.

At full permitted emissions, the facility could release as much as 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, potentially making it the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions among U.S. power plants. 

The project underscores the growing tension between the rapid expansion of AI data centers and technology companies' climate commitments.

Amazon has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040, but the company's rapidly expanding data-center infrastructure has made that goal more difficult.

Amazon has said the facility will provide dedicated power without drawing electricity from the public grid and has also explored using solar power and battery storage at the data center.

Amazon is not alone in turning to dedicated power generation. Other technology companies are also seeking alternatives to the conventional electricity grid as they build increasingly power-hungry AI data centers.