Amazon is building a new AI data center in Texas that could become the country’s largest source of carbon emissions
A data center facility being constructed by Amazon.com Inc. to host workloads for Amazon Web Services is set to become the single-largest source of pollution in the entire U.S., according to a report by the New York Times Saturday. The company, which already operates more data center facilities globally than any other organization, has secured […] The post Amazon is building a new AI data center…
Amazon is constructing a new data center in Texas that could become the nation's largest source of carbon emissions, according to a report by the New York Times. The facility, powered by a natural gas plant located at the same site in Pecos County, will generate 7.65 gigawatts of electricity using 35 natural gas turbines. The gas combustion will release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the most polluting power plant in the country.
Despite Amazon's pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2040, the company's emissions have increased each year since 2019 due to its expansion in AI and data center construction. Amazon acknowledges the negative impact of its AI projects on its climate goals but remains committed to its net-zero target. The Texas government has paused new data center projects pending a state audit, while the Trump administration continues to support fossil fuels over renewable energy sources.
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- Amazon’s new 7.65GW Texas AI data center power plant could become the largest source of CO₂ pollution in the US — custom 35-turbine gas plant authorized to emit 33 million tons of annual greenhouse gases tomshardware.com
- Amazon is backing a 7.65 GW gas plant for an off-grid TX AI data center, potentially the largest single US emissions source, at odds with its 2040 net-zero goal (Hiroko Tabuchi/New York Times) nytimes.com
- Internal Amazon documents reveal a major overhaul of one of the world's biggest AI data centers businessinsider.com
