- Amazon has confirmed that the planned Pecos County data center will use new on-site generation and initially will not connect to the wider Texas grid. [1] - The associated GW Ranch permits allow potential greenhouse-gas emissions of about 33.2 million tons per year, although the project is not operating and the figure is a permitted maximum. [2] - Pacifico Energy’s broader plan combines natural-gas generation with 1.8 gigawatts of battery storage and 750 megawatts of solar capacity. [3] - Amazon’s data-center capacity, construction budget, financing arrangement with Pacifico and opening date have not been publicly disclosed.
[1][2] Amazon is investing in a planned data center in Pecos County, Texas, that would be powered by new on-site generation connected to Pacifico Energy’s GW Ranch project, a natural-gas complex permitted to emit about 33.2 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. [1][2]
The figure is a potential emissions limit in the project’s air-permit documents, not a measurement of current pollution or a confirmed forecast of annual operating emissions. GW Ranch has not begun commercial operation. [2][3]
A large private power project with an unresolved customer mix #
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s technical review describes Pacifico GW LLC’s proposed facility as 35 natural-gas-fired simple-cycle turbines with a nominal output of 5,000 megawatts. The plant would supply an on-site AI data center and would not be capable of selling electricity to, or receiving electricity from, the local utility system. [2]
Pacifico later said TCEQ had approved 7.65 gigawatts of gas-fired generation for the broader GW Ranch project. Its announced design also includes 1.8 gigawatts of battery storage and 750 megawatts of solar capacity. Pacifico says the first phase would provide 1 gigawatt, with first power targeted for the first half of 2027. [3]
The 5-gigawatt turbine description in the technical review and Pacifico’s 7.65-gigawatt project figure are not identical. The difference may reflect later phases, turbine options or the broader project envelope, but the documents reviewed do not establish how much capacity would serve Amazon specifically.
The emissions number is a permit ceiling #
The TCEQ technical review lists potential greenhouse-gas emissions of 33,204,964.44 tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent per year. It also lists potential annual emissions of about 2,830 tons of nitrogen oxides, 991 tons of fine particulate matter, 838 tons of volatile organic compounds and 5,955 tons of carbon monoxide. [2]
The Environmental Integrity Project included GW Ranch among the largest proposed gas plants intended to serve data centers. Its national comparison places several projects above GW Ranch on potential greenhouse-gas emissions, while noting that some figures come directly from permits and others are EIP estimates. [4]
That distinction matters. A permit authorizes a level of operation under specified conditions; it does not show how often turbines will run, whether all planned phases will be built, or how much electricity the data center will ultimately consume. Describing GW Ranch as a possible top U.S. climate-pollution source is therefore a comparison of permitted potential, not observed emissions. [2][4]
What Amazon has confirmed #
A company spokeswoman told The New York Times that the planned data center would be “powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families.” Amazon also said it was exploring solar energy and battery storage at the site. [1]
The company has not publicly disclosed how much it paid for the property or the project, according to the Times. The public permit identifies Pacifico GW LLC as the applicant and permit holder, not Amazon. [1][2]
The available record does not establish whether Amazon owns the power plant, is financing its construction, has signed a long-term power contract with Pacifico, or would be the project’s only data-center customer. It also does not disclose the campus’s planned megawatt load, number of buildings, water demand, construction schedule or expected opening date. [1][2]
A Texas test of behind-the-meter AI power #
GW Ranch is part of a broader Texas push to build dedicated generation for large data centers rather than wait for new transmission and utility interconnections. The Texas Tribune reported that at least 32 proposed natural-gas plants serving data centers were located in Texas in the Environmental Integrity Project’s national review. [4][5]
The strategy can give developers more control over timing and reduce dependence on the ERCOT grid, but it also shifts more generation and emissions onto the data-center site. Texas reporting has documented concerns about air pollution, water use, grid impacts and the possibility that rapid data-center growth could affect residential electricity costs. [5]
Pecos County commissioners scheduled a June 22, 2026, public hearing on establishing a GW Ranch reinvestment zone under Texas Tax Code Chapter 312. That shows the project has entered a formal local economic-development process, but the agenda does not by itself establish broad community support or opposition. [6]
Amazon’s 2025 sustainability report says electricity use in its data centers contributed to higher company emissions, while also reporting 42 gigawatts of carbon-free-energy capacity across 712 projects as of January 2026. [7] The Pecos County project illustrates the unresolved tension between those investments and the company’s decision to add gas-fired generation for new AI capacity.
Companies mentioned #
Further sources #
[[1] The New York Times reported on August 8, 2026, that Amazon is investing in the … ↗](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html)
[[2] The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality technical review for GW Ranch Ene… ↗](https://us-east-1.storage.xata.sh/m70jvtf70r155bp166d0qkgdlt453384)
[3] Pacifico Energy’s January 2026 announcement described the 7.65-gigawatt gas per… ↗
[4] The Environmental Integrity Project’s 2026 report lists GW Ranch among proposed… ↗
[[5] The Texas Tribune reported on proposed gas plants for data centers in Texas and… ↗](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/01/texas-data-center-power-plans-emissions/)
[[6] Pecos County’s June 22, 2026, commissioners’ court agenda included a public hea… ↗](https://www.co.pecos.tx.us/commissioners-court-regular-session-agenda-6222026/)+1 more
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