Amazon Backs Texas Gas Plant That May Become Largest US Climate Polluter

Amazon's artificial intelligence ambitions will soon be partly fueled by a natural gas-burning power plant in Texas that could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States, according to The New York Times. These gas-burning plants are increasingly integrated into data center projects, producing pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. The Trump administration favors fast-tracking such projects, potentially skipping permitting processes entirely. Since Elon Musk's xAI began using gas turbines to power its Colossus data center, there has been public backlash. The NAACP in Mississippi sued xAI in June to turn off the turbines, but the Trump administration backed xAI, arguing citizens cannot enforce the Clean Air Act. Despite mounting criticism, AI giants like Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle have invested in ways to avoid permitting and supply their own power. Amazon's Texas project is reportedly its first big investment in an off-the-grid data center, and such projects have become a sign that resistance against gas-burning plants may be futile, especially if xAI wins the lawsuit.