Amazon to Build 7.65 GW Natural Gas Power Plant in Texas, US

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Amazon has confirmed it will build a natural gas power plant with a capacity of up to 7.65 gigawatts in Pecos County, Texas, to power a co-located AI data center campus. The project, named "GW Ranch," is planned to be equipped with 35 gas turbines and, if fully completed, would become the largest power generation facility in U.S. history. Amazon has secured the project site and relevant permits, site clearing is already underway, and construction applications for the first three data center buildings have been submitted.

In its initial phase, the GW Ranch campus will operate as an independent power system and will not connect to the public grid of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), in order to avoid interconnection bottlenecks. Amazon stated that on-site power generation will avoid further driving up electricity prices for Texas residents, and the project will gradually connect to the grid once the public grid has sufficient capacity to accommodate it. This "behind-the-meter" power supply model is rapidly gaining traction in the data center industry—since the beginning of 2025, nearly 60 such natural gas power projects have been announced in the U.S., with a combined capacity of approximately 90 gigawatts.

Permit documents issued by Texas authorities show that the plant will be allowed to emit up to 33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. By comparison, the James H Miller Jr coal-fired power plant in Alabama emits approximately 16 million metric tons per year, meaning GW Ranch's permitted emission cap is more than double that amount. If emissions reach the permitted cap, the facility would become the largest single source of climate pollution in the U.S.. The project also creates tension with Amazon's "Climate Pledge" commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040—the company's carbon emissions have risen again in recent years. Amazon stated that the cooling process will only use saline groundwater that is unsuitable for agricultural irrigation and drinking.

Microsoft, Google, and Meta have all made moves into fossil fuel projects in 2026 to support AI computing expansion. Microsoft has committed to building a 2-gigawatt data center campus in Pecos County, powered by a 2.67-gigawatt power plant. The GW Ranch campus is being developed by Pacifico Energy, and solar power generation and battery energy storage facilities are expected to be added in the future. Amazon is also reportedly in talks for another 4.5-gigawatt natural gas power plant project in Pennsylvania.