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GW Ranch in Pecos
Amazon is investing in a natural-gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas, to supply electricity for a new data center campus, with the project described as operating off-grid at least initially.
“would be permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide a year”
The New York TimesThe New York Times reported that the planned facility could be permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, and The Verge said the plant received a permit to release up to 33 million tons of CO2.
BFMThe Brussels Times said the project, known as GW Ranch, will include 35 turbines with a total capacity of 7.65 gigawatts, and it said the plant would power large data centers directly rather than connect to the wider electricity network.
Amazon said in a statement that its planned data center campus in Pecos County would be “powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families,” and it said it is exploring “opportunities for solar energy and battery storage on site.”
Climate pledge vs power
Environmental concerns are framed around the scale of GW Ranch, with The New York Times saying the facility “could become the largest single source of climate pollution in the United States.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Amazon spokeswoman Margaret Callahan said, “The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge,” and she added, “our commitment hasn’t changed.”
ChronThe Independent reported that the natural gas plant powering the Amazon data center project in Texas “could become the largest climate polluter in the country,” and it said the plant is permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The Independent also reported that Texas paused new data center projects while regulators complete an audit of each proposed facility, and it quoted Republican Governor Greg Abbott writing, “Simply put, Texans must come first.”
What happens next
The project is positioned as part of a broader rush to secure electricity for artificial intelligence data centers, with The Brussels Times saying the approach is being used increasingly by big technology companies as they rush to secure energy needed for the boom in artificial intelligence.
“will power large data centres directly rather than connect to the wider electricity network”
The Brussels TimesThe Independent said the Trump administration has pushed to speed up data center construction, including by redeveloping federal land to host the facilities, and it said high demand for data centers has sent tech companies in search of alternatives like building bespoke, on-site natural gas plants.
Cleanview-linked reporting in The Brussels Times and The Independent described GW Ranch as being tied to permits for data centers filed by Amazon in an arid area of Texas near the Mexican border, and it said Amazon confirmed the plans.
The Independent said Amazon expects the Pecos project to create “thousands of new jobs,” while it also reported that the state of Texas noted “approximately 90 percent of the new power requests on the Texas grid are for data centers,” seeking 474 gigawatts of electricity.
