Amazon is constructing a massive natural gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas, to provide electricity for a large new AI data center. The plant will feature 35 turbines and generate 7.65 gigawatts of power, exceeding the capacity of any currently operating gas plant in the US [1, 2, 3, 4].
The site is permitted to emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country [5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 4]. Amazon acknowledges that emissions from its AI data centers have increased its overall carbon footprint, complicating its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 [5, 3, 6, 4]. Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokeswoman, said, "The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge. Our commitment hasn’t changed." [5]
The power plant will initially operate off the Texas power grid but is planned to transition to grid connection as interconnection timelines allow [1, 3, 4]. The facility will use brackish, non-potable groundwater to avoid adding stress to local water supplies [1, 4].
Recently, Amazon filed three construction permits for data center buildings at the GW Ranch site and has begun land clearing there [1, 2, 4]. The gas plant is being developed by Pacifico Energy [2, 4]. Amazon emphasized that on-site power generation will not increase electricity costs for Texas families. An Amazon spokesperson said, "The data center will be powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families," and that the company "believes in paying the full costs of powering our operations" [6, 4].
Amazon already operates nearly 10 gigawatts of carbon-free energy projects across 40 sites powering data centers in Texas [1, 4]. For comparison, a larger 9.2 gigawatt gas plant is planned in Ohio with SoftBank participation but will connect to the grid to power another data center [2, 4].
By August 7, Amazon confirmed financing of the gas plant and its link to the new AI data center. Land clearing began between August 6 and 8 [5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 4]. The company appears committed to developing its Pecos County data center campus alongside the power plant to meet its growing AI computing needs.
