Amazon is investing in a massive natural-gas power plant in West Texas to supply electricity for a new artificial intelligence data center campus, a facility that regulators have permitted to emit more planet-warming carbon dioxide than any existing power plant in the United States.
The plant, known as GW Ranch and under development by Pacifico Energy in Pecos County, would use 35 natural-gas turbines to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of electricity.
State permits allow the facility to release as much as 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, roughly twice the annual emissions of the country’s current highest-emitting coal
confirmed it has acquired the site and plans to draw power directly from the on-site generation, at least initially keeping the operation off the Texas grid.
A company spokeswoman said the project “will be powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families” and is designed to connect to the grid once interconnection timelines allow.The announcement comes as tech companies race to secure reliable power for energy-hungry AI data centers amid growing strain on regional grids.
Amazon and other cloud providers have faced criticism for rising emissions even as they maintain long-term climate goals. Amazon co-founded the Climate Pledge, which commits participating companies to net-zero carbon by 2040.
The company has said its overall carbon footprint rose 16% last year, partly due to AI-related
intelligence firm Cleanview first linked Amazon to the project by matching newly filed data-center construction permits with land-clearing activity near the GW Ranch site. Satellite imagery reviewed by researchers showed work already under way.
Amazon plans to purchase electricity from the plant rather than rely on the existing power network in the near term.Power plants rarely emit at the absolute maximum allowed under their permits.
Still, the scale of the authorization has drawn attention because it would give GW Ranch room to become the single largest source of climate pollution in the country if operated near capacity. Amazon has pointed to other efforts in Texas, including enabling about 10 gigawatts of carbon-free energy across dozens of projects.
Company officials have noted that the energy landscape has changed since the Climate Pledge was launched, while reiterating that the long-term commitment remains in place.The project highlights a broader tension in the AI boom: the need for rapid, large-scale electricity supply often collides with corporate and public pressure to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Similar off-grid or dedicated power arrangements are being explored by other major tech firms seeking to avoid multi-year waits for grid connections. Construction permits for data-center buildings at the site have been filed, and first power delivery is targeted for early 2027, according to project timelines reviewed by industry trackers. Amazon has not released detailed timelines for the full campus build-out or exact computing capacity planned for the location.
