{"slug": "amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge", "title": "Amazon funds biggest gas power plant in US despite climate pledge", "summary": "Amazon.com Inc. is funding a natural gas-burning power plant in Texas that could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States, according to a New York Times report. The plant will power Amazon's AI data centers, and the company is among several tech giants, including Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle, that have increasingly invested in off-the-grid power sources to avoid permitting discussions. This comes amid a legal battle where the NAACP sued xAI over gas turbines powering its Colossus data center, with the Trump administration backing xAI and arguing citizens cannot enforce the Clean Air Act.", "body_md": "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,” The New York Times [reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html).\n\nThese gas-burning plants are increasingly lumped into data center projects. They produce harmful pollutants, which can accelerate climate change impacts and harm public health—contributing to conditions like asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. Some communities are demanding more stringent environmental reviews, but the Trump administration favors fast-tracking that can include skipping the permitting process entirely.\n\nSince Elon Musk’s xAI [controversially began relying on gas turbines](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/elon-musks-xai-accused-of-lying-to-black-communities-about-harmful-pollution/) last spring to power its biggest AI data center, Colossus, there has been [public backlash](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/xai-faces-legal-threat-over-alleged-colossus-data-center-pollution-in-memphis/) to off-the-grid data centers like the one Amazon is building.\n\nNotably, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Mississippi [sued xAI](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/trump-admin-helps-xai-fight-pollution-lawsuit-says-military-needs-grok-for-war/) to get Musk’s gas turbines turned off in June. That spurred the Trump administration to join the fight, backing xAI and [arguing](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.52261/gov.uscourts.msnd.52261.102.0.pdf) that citizens have no power to enforce the Clean Air Act.\n\nHowever, as xAI and Trump pushed to dismiss the lawsuit, [reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/climate/data-centers-pollution-trump-ai-energy.html) [show](https://cleanview.co/reports/behind-the-meter-data-centers) that other AI giants have largely ignored mounting public criticism since it was filed. They’ve increasingly invested in various ways to avoid permitting discussions and supply their own power—including Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle. Together with Amazon’s investments, these alternative power plant projects swiftly securing approvals have become a harbinger that, unlike [other data center fights](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/130-billion-in-data-center-projects-blocked-by-protests-so-far-this-year/) that have successfully blocked $130 billion in projects so far this year, resistance against gas-burning plants may be futile. A potential loss in the xAI fight could devastate momentum in communities hoping to keep up the fight for more transparency.\n\nDozens of firms have begun sourcing their own power supplies in the past year, but the Texas project is [reportedly ](https://newsletter.cleanview.co/p/scoop-amazon-is-behind-one-of-the)Amazon’s first big investment in an off-the-grid data center.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge", "canonical_source": "https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge/", "published_at": "2026-08-10 20:45:52+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-10 20:48:43.299016+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Amazon.com Inc.", "New York Times", "xAI", "NAACP", "Trump administration", "Anthropic", "Google", "Meta"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-funds-biggest-gas-power-plant-in-us-despite-climate-pledge.jsonld"}}