A report by the Environmental Integrity Project found that dozens of planned gas plants to directly power data centers in the United States could emit as much greenhouse gas annually as Australia or France. The report reviewed 74 gas-fired US power plant projects proposed or planned to provide electricity directly to data centers, which would sidestep the process to connect to the US electric grid.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The plants are estimated to generate 143 gigawatts of electricity and result in 662 million tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions. The cumulative scale of the greenhouse gas emissions from these plants rivals the emissions of major economies like France or Australia, and poses public health risks to those who reside near the projects due to their release of harmful pollutants like nitrous oxide and benzene.
Nearly half of the 74 plants identified will be located in Texas, followed by gas-producing states Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, which respectively have 10, six, and four off-grid plants planned. The Trump administration has continued to call for the rapid construction of data centers and taken steps to reduce barriers to building and powering them as a national security and economic imperative.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
