Amazons new Texas AI data center will include massive amounts of air pollution

Amazon is building a natural-gas-burning power plant in Pecos County, Texas, for a large AI data center project that would emit approximately 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it among the largest emitters in the U.S., according to the New York Times. The plant, slated for 2026, would set a record for the most air pollution emitted by a single power plant, despite Amazon's 2019 Climate Pledge. A company spokesperson told the NYT, "The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge.

Amazon's new Texas AI data center will include massive amounts of air pollution Alex Perry /author/aperry yelix.bsky.social http://yelix.bsky.social . Read Full Bio /author/aperry In 2019, Amazon https://mashable.com/category/amazon signed the Climate Pledge https://www.aboutamazon.com/planet/climate-pledge , aiming to help Earth's environmental health. In 2026, Amazon aims to set a record for the most air pollution emitted by a single power plant. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html reported that the company is building a new natural-gas-burning power plant in Pecos County, Texas, for a huge AI https://mashable.com/category/artificial-intelligence data center project. The plant, if built as planned, would emit approximately 33 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, making it among the largest emitters in the United States. AI data centers are already known to have multiple huge downsides to their construction. Aside from their huge carbon emissions https://mashable.com/article/ai-data-center-carbon-emissions-uk , they're also known for generating massive amounts of noise pollution https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/communities-are-raising-noise-pollution-concernsabout-data-centers , and they can raise utility bills https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/ for nearby residents if they use the local electrical grid. Amazon's new plant won't necessarily do the last thing, as it's providing its own power using natural gas, but the proposed carbon emissions would still be damaging to the environment. Terms of Use https://www.ziffdavis.com/terms-of-use and Privacy Policy https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy . You May Also Like Construction of the plant appears to be proceeding despite recent pushback https://mashable.com/tech/greg-abbott-texas-data-center-audit from the Texas government on data centers. As for Amazon's Climate Pledge, a spokesperson told the NYT that, simply put, things change over time. "The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge," the spokesperson told the New York Times . Topics Amazon https://mashable.com/category/amazon Artificial Intelligence https://mashable.com/category/artificial-intelligence Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social http://yelix.bsky.social .