New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations

[highplainsdem]

Source: Wired

New gas projects linked to just 11 data center campuses around the US have the potential to create more greenhouse gases than the country of Morocco emitted in 2024. Emissions estimates from air permit documents examined by WIRED show that these natural gas projects—which are being built to power data centers to serve some of the US’s most powerful AI companies, including OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI—have the potential to emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.

As tech companies race to secure massive power deals to build out hundreds of data centers across the country, these projects represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential climate cost of the AI boom.

The infrastructure on this list of large natural gas projects reviewed by WIRED is being developed to largely bypass the grid and provide power solely for data centers, a trend known as behind-the-meter power. As data center developers face long waits for connections to traditional utilities, and amid mounting public resistance to the possibility of higher energy bills, making their own power is becoming an increasingly popular option. These projects have either been announced or are under construction, with companies already submitting air permit application materials with state agencies.

Michael Thomas, the founder of clean energy research firm Cleanview, has been tracking gas permits for data centers across the country. He calls behind-the-meter power “a crazy acceleration of emissions.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/new-gas-powered-data-centers-could-emit-more-greenhouse-gases-than-entire-nations/

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AI companies usually argue that what they're doing will ultimately save the environment because the magic AI hallucinatingb chatbot fairy will bring us magic technologies to solve the climate crisis. And a lot of them hope to switch soon to nuclear power via small nuclear power plants across the country to be built quickly thanks to slashing of regulations by the Trump regime, and the magic AI hallucinating chatbot fairy running the nuclear power plant.

What could go wrong?

And in the meantime the AI bros can contine to pollute poor neighborhoods in large cities and farmland near small towns where AI companies' power and money can get a lot of cooperation from local officials.

This is your world on generative AI used to produce mostly AI slop.

[progree]

1. More natural gas-fired generation being developed to power US data centers than California's entire generating capacity

(California has the 4th largest economy IN THE WORLD)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3653078

If people hit a paywall at that Wired article at the above link, here's an archive copy--
https://archive.ph/MfS4e#selection-2183.144-2183.153

Another equivalence that might be more relatable --

The amount of natural-gas-fired generation in development just to power near-future U.S. data centers is equivalent, in greenhouse gas emissions, to adding 100 MILLION ADDITIONAL gasoline-fueled cars to the roads. All that mostly just for AI and cryptocurrency mining.

[paleotn]

9. There goes your nat. gas bill, folks.

There's only so much of it and only so much can be extracted over time with existing infrastructure. Then, tell me how AI is some kind of nirvana.... in the middle of next Winter. All this for techno hallucinations, gross errors, and slop.

[walkingman]

2. A great message for EARTH DAY which is supposed to focus on environmental protection and sustainability

[Redleg]

11. It seems to me that when Earth Day started it was much less controversial than it is today

Now we have politicians and other people who are openly hostile to the idea of conserving and protecting the natural environment.

[BigmanPigman]

17. I still find it odd that Nixon is the POTUS who started Earth Day.

That seems like tRump starting Women's Day.

[walkingman]

18. Sadly, the GOP of today is so far removed from the GOP of the 70s it is unrecognizable.

There are absolutely no guardrails anymore by Congress and lying seems to be admired and not even hidden anymore. Nixon's actions were a direct result of the 1st Earth Day when about 10% of the population participated in the largest protest in US history. These days the environment is of no concern by most voters and doesn't even make the top 10 in priorities.

Do you ever feel like you are living in Dumbfuckistan?

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

[progree]

4. Darn, I've passed the quota at Wired. and, there are no hits at archive.ph EOM

[Wicked Blue]

5. Naturally it has never occurred to them to install solar panels on the roofs

or put up wind turbines next to them to offset at least some of the energy demand.

[purr-rat beauty]

6. Why would they?

Their portfolios are saturated in oil

[paleotn]

7. And for what, techno nerds?

[FakeNoose]

8. Put each data center under a huge glass dome with no air going in or out

They will cook themselves in no time. Problem solved.

[calimary]

10. "What could go wrong?"

OY! How about EVERYTHING?

[crud]

12. Kind of off topic...I'm a graphic designer

And I'm starting to get jobs from printers to redo AI generated "art" slop, so they can print it. It usually looks crappy, and dated with no sense of design, but I do my best to make it look like the AI slop they give me. On the upside, it looks like work is picking up for me, fixing the crap AI puts out.

[KPN]

13. Hmmmm .... Why do I have this odd feeling that AI

is going to be the end of us. Well, actually the billionaires and wanna be *illionaires.

[flamingdem]

14. That's horrible

Climate concerns thrown out the window for capital.

[Karasu]

15. This country is fucking cooked if we don't rein in this unregulated bullshit NOW. These companies are going to continue

to push this without or without fascists in charge.

[madville]

16. Not even 10% of what China is doing

And China is fueling their AI boom with mostly coal.

[hunter]

19. How is this an argument?

It's like when you catch your thirteen year old kid smoking and they tell you all their friends' parents them smoke.

Giant data centers may have some uses that justify the energy demand but mostly they are not being used for that. China is using these huge data centers for some scientific purposes but they are also using them to identify dissidents and control the public discourse.

Which is of course why we are building them too, though our own oligarchs tend to be better at obfuscating their motives.