{"slug": "planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us", "title": "Planned Amazon data center could become the biggest climate polluter in the US", "summary": "Amazon's planned data center in Pecos County, Texas, will be powered by an on-site natural gas plant permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, making it the largest climate polluter in the U.S., according to The New York Times. Amazon's carbon emissions rose 16% last year, conflicting with its pledge to eliminate emissions by 2040. An Amazon spokesperson said the data center will be powered by new on-site generation that won't raise electricity costs for Texas families, and that the company's commitment to the climate pledge hasn't changed.", "body_md": "As part of a planned data center in Pecos County, Texas, Amazon is investing in an on-site power plant that could become the largest source of climate pollution in the United States, [according to The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.31A.xzDh.F4qu7Zcw39Dj).\n\nThe NYT says the plant would burn natural gas and is permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year — more than any other power plant in the U.S.\n\nIn a statement, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the data center will “be powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families.” (Data centers [face growing political opposition](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/new-york-state-halts-construction-of-all-new-data-centers/) for a number of reasons, including their effect on electricity costs.)\n\nAI has already had a significant impact on Amazon’s carbon emissions, which it [reported were up 16% last year](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/02/a-warning-sign-about-ais-real-cost-courtesy-of-google-and-amazon/) — the wrong direction for a company that pledged to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2040. And that could get worse as Amazon and tech companies [back the development of huge natural gas plants](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/ai-companies-are-building-huge-natural-gas-plants-to-power-data-centers-what-could-go-wrong/) to support their power-hungry data centers.\n\nThe Amazon spokesperson said, “The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge,” while also claiming, “Our commitment hasn’t changed.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us", "canonical_source": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/08/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-u-s/", "published_at": "2026-08-08 21:24:02+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-10 17:23:01.614668+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Amazon", "The New York Times", "Pecos County, Texas"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/planned-amazon-data-center-could-become-the-biggest-climate-polluter-in-the-us.jsonld"}}