amazon's 33m-ton co2 plant exposes ai's dirty energy reality
amazon backed a 7.65gw gas plant for its texas ai data center permitted to emit 33m tons of co2, challenging its carbon-neutral pledge.
amazon is investing in a 7.65gw natural-gas plant in pecos county, texas, to power its growing ai infrastructure. the gw ranch plant received a permit for up to 33 million tons of co2 annually, exceeding the largest coal plants, as grid capacity limits force tech giants to build dedicated off-grid power. amazon confirms it purchased the site to support its ai operations, even as emissions rise for the fifth consecutive year. this trend mirrors moves by meta and google, highlighting a conflict between ai scalability and carbon-neutral commitments.