Two Fossil Fuel Companies Are Betting Big on Data Centers

Two major American fossil fuel companies, Williams and Chevron, are investing heavily in data centers as demand for their services grows. According to BloombergNEF, the increased need for natural gas by data centers in the US until around 2035 will require a 36 percent increase in production. A report by BloombergNEF found that five of the seven gas-fired power plants connected to data centers highlighted in Williams and Chevron's second quarter results could emit as much as 21 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, roughly equivalent to the emissions of Guatemala.

Both companies have emphasized their plans to expand their data center power generation facilities. Williams has announced a $5 billion investment in data center ventures and is building a 9-mile natural gas pipeline in Ohio to serve its Meta-affiliated power plants and potential future projects. Chevron, meanwhile, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft for a 2.67-gigawatt data center in Texas, which could emit over 11.5 million tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions per year.

Environmental groups criticize the alliance between tech and fossil fuel industries, arguing that it provides a lifeline to an industry that should be phased out.