Amazon's New AI Data Center Power Plant Could Become the Worst Polluter in the US
emmanuelvivier · x · 2026-08-10
To meet the growing computational demands of AI, Amazon is investing in a new data center in Pecos County, Texas, along with a dedicated natural gas power plant.
According to the New York Times, the new plant, equipped with 35 natural-gas turbines, will primarily deliver up to 7.65 gigawatts of electricity to the data center without connecting to the state's power grid initially. Data from Cleanview reveals that the plant received a permit to emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 annually, more than even the largest coal plant in the United States. This incident highlights the massive pressure AI compute demand places on energy consumption and environmental emissions, as well as the controversies surrounding data center construction restrictions in the US.
Related event: Amazon's 7.65GW Texas Data Center Power Plant May Become Top US Polluter(2 posts)→
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