A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has identified at least 74 gas-fired power plants that are planned across the US to supply the burgeoning data centre network, noting that they could generate greenhouse gas emissions comparable to those of Australia each year.
According to its report, The Power Behind AI, these gas plants are expected to generate around 143 gigawatts of electricity annually, as well as 662 million tonnes per year of greenhouse gas emissions.
As it notes, many of these facilities will be located in low-income areas, with existing public health and infrastructure challenges. In addition, some 188 schools are located within three miles of the planned facilities.
‘Chained to the past’
“An industry of the future should not be chained to dirty fuels of the past and the air pollution from fossil fuels that cause real harm to communities,” commented Jen Duggan, executive director, Environmental Integrity Project.
“While data centres may be needed to accommodate shifts in technology, the public has a right to transparency and accountability, clean air, and common sense controls to protect water supplies, especially in areas already struggling with water shortages.”
Facility locations
According to the EIP, 32 of the proposed gas plants are planned for Texas, with another 10 in Ohio, seven in Pennsylvania, four in West Virginia and four in Wyoming.
One of the largest planned developments, the Portsmouth Powered Land Project in Ohio, could emit 53 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, the report notes, while another, in West Texas, could release 40 million tonnes. The latter is being developed to power a data centre complex known as the President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus.
Overall, the projects include 71 new power plants and three power-plant expansions, which would supply power directly to data-centres independent of the electricity grid.
“In their wholehearted embrace of dirty and outdated gas power, data centre developers are announcing to the public that they don’t care about us,” commented Alex Bomstein, executive director at Clean Air Council. “We deserve better than decades of toxic pollution, parched streambeds, and climate chaos.” Read more here and here.
