Natural Gas-Powered Data Centers Are A Risk We Can’t Afford

AI data centers were on the ballot in the midterm elections. Voters across the country approved dozens of ballot measures restricting data center construction, and they elected leaders at all levels of government who have proposed either guardrails or outright moratoriums on construction.

Those results reflect a huge spectrum of concerns, from energy costs to local water use to the social and economic implications of AI itself. But it’s clear that many of the problems data center developers now face – reflected back at the industry by voters – stem from AI’s massive energy demand and the polluting projects being proposed to meet it.

Billions of dollars are being funneled into financing and building natural gas generation, often off the grid, to power data centers. This irreversible fossil fuel expansion is barreling ahead, even though gas plants take longer to build and are often more expensive than alternatives like renewable energy and strategies to balance energy use.

To get onto a politically, environmentally, and economically sustainable path, policymakers and data center developers must change course to ensure that the AI build does not spike pollution and that everyday ratepayers and other businesses are protected from cost increases.

One AI data center project in Texas is being planned alongside a 7.65 gigawatt on-site natural gas plant that could become the single largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the country. Another project in Ohio could be fueled by a whopping 9.2 gigawatts of new gas capacity. For context, the Grand Coulee Dam, currently the largest power plant by capacity in the United States, produces up to about 7 gigawatts.

Off-grid Gas Plants Sidestep the Checks that Protect Ratepayers

More Pollution, Higher Bills, and Mounting Legal Exposure

There are already warning signs about this natural gas-powered future.

Clean Energy Can Meet AI’s Power Needs Faster and Cheaper