Amazon · Elon Musk · xAI · U.S. · New York · Ars Technica
Amazon backs power plant that may become top source of US climate pollution
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Amazon’s artificial intelligence ambitions will soon be partly fueled by a natural gas-burning power plant in Texas that “could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States,” The New York Times reported.
Key facts
- And if nothing changes to end those delays by 2027, out of 13 GW in possible projects that could be online, only 5 GW of power may be added, the company forecasted
- Any delay at all is viewed as money left on the table, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on a July 30 earnings call that demand is particularly exploding for its AI and chips businesses amid the AI boom
- Specifically, one permit showed the power plant “would use 35 turbines to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power,” Cleanview reported
- But Amazon’s bottom line might take precedence over that 2040 deadline
Summary
These gas-burning plants are increasingly lumped into data center projects. Since Elon Musk’s xAI controversially began relying on gas turbines last spring to power its biggest AI data center, Colossus, there has been public backlash to off-the-grid data centers like the one Amazon is building. Notably, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Mississippi sued xAI to get Musk’s gas turbines turned off in June. However, as xAI and Trump pushed to dismiss the lawsuit, reports show that other AI giants have largely ignored mounting public criticism since it was filed.