Amazon backs power plant that may become top source of US climate pollution

Amazon, driven by its artificial intelligence ambitions, is set to power its data centers using a natural gas-burning power plant in Texas, which could potentially become the single largest source of climate pollution in the United States, according to The New York Times. The reliance on gas-burning plants for data center projects is becoming more common, despite the harmful pollutants they emit.

These pollutants exacerbate climate change impacts and worsen public health issues, such as asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. In some communities, there is a growing demand for stricter environmental reviews, but the Trump administration has been pushing for fast-tracking processes that can bypass the typical permitting requirements.

Elon Musk's xAI is not alone in adopting this approach, as Amazon is now set to build a data center powered by gas turbines, raising concerns about the environmental implications of off-the-grid data centers in the United States.