Amazon builds a massive off-grid gas plant to fuel a Texas AI data center

Amazon is building a private gas power plant in Texas for a new AI data center—and it could become the largest single source of pollution in the country.

According to a report from newsletter Distilled, Amazon acquired land and permits in Pecos County, Texas, for a 7.65-gigawatt gas plant to run a site named GW Ranch. A state permit allows the off-grid facility to emit 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which exceeds the output of the largest coal plant in the U.S. Construction filings show land clearing has already begun.

Why it matters: The plant directly undermines Amazon's pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Running data centers off-grid avoids overloading public utilities or raising local electric rates, but it swaps grid strain for unprecedented carbon emissions. Amazon says it holds 10 gigawatts of carbon-free energy projects in Texas and will use non-potable groundwater, but local resistance is growing.

Here's the gist: Off-grid gas plants keep tech giants off the public grid, but they trade local electricity spikes for massive carbon footprints.

Powering the future of AI is starting to look a lot like burning fuel from the past.