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

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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.”

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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.