en.Wedoany.com Reported - Amazon is building an on-site power plant in Pecos County, Texas, to supply electricity to a planned data center project. The New York Times noted that the plant could become the largest source of climate pollution in the United States.
The natural gas power plant has been approved to emit 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, exceeding any other power plant in the United States. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed in a statement that the data center will be "powered by new on-site generation and will not raise electricity rates for Texas households." Data centers are facing growing political opposition for a variety of reasons, including their impact on electricity prices.
Artificial intelligence has already had a significant impact on Amazon's carbon emissions. The company reported that its carbon emissions rose by 16% last year—a trend that runs counter to its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. As Amazon and other tech companies support the development of large natural gas plants to power energy-intensive data centers, carbon emissions could worsen further.
An Amazon spokesperson stated: "The world looks different now than it did when we co-founded the Climate Pledge," while also asserting, "Our commitment has not changed."
