Amazon's new Texas data center could become the single largest polluter in the US

[DragonSlayer101]

A hot potato: A proposed Amazon data center in Texas has sparked concerns that its massive on-site power plant could become the single-largest source of pollution in the US, threatening to affect local communities, farmland, and small businesses. The facility is planned for Pecos County as part of Amazon's growing push into AI and cloud services.

In a statement to The New York Times, an Amazon spokesperson said the data center will be powered entirely by an on-site power plant, ensuring it won't raise electricity costs for local residents. The plant is expected to run on natural gas, with 35 turbines combining to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power.

The facility has regulatory approval to release up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which would make it the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US – more than any other factory or power plant nationwide.

(Not Amazon's data center) - Satellite imagery shows OpenAI's Stargate data center transforming the landscape near Abilene, TX. The 1,100-acre campus spans roughly 4 million square feet and is still growing. Credit: Planet Labs PBC

Critics say the permitted emissions level is far too high, noting that the projected output would rival the total emissions of entire countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, and Bulgaria.

Notably, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, promising to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Since then, though, its emissions have climbed sharply: the company's emissions tied to purchased electricity rose 34% in 2025 alone.

Stargate's gas turbines are permitted to emit over 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases and 1,000 tons of air pollutants annually, approved without public input. Credit: Evan Simon / Floodlight, via The Texas Tribune

Asked about the pledge, Amazon spokeswoman Margaret Callahan told the Times that "the world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge," but added that "our commitment [to a carbon-neutral future] hasn't changed."

The Pecos County plant falls under the so-called "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," which requires tech companies to source their own power for new AI data centers rather than drawing from existing grids.

The pledge was signed last March at the insistence of President Trump by several leading American tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Oracle, OpenAI, and xAI.

US investment in data center infrastructure hit record levels last year, and as major tech companies continue pouring money into AI, demand for electricity is expected to keep climbing sharply in the years ahead.

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Amazon's new Texas data center could become the single largest polluter in the US

 

[The Talking Tech]

Texas and their corporate goons.....that's why every company sees Texas as the "out of jail card" for their terrible business practices.

But the people in that state keeps voting in all those closed minded politicians that care more about their pockets and how they keep restricting their citizens than looking out for their own health.

 

[OortCloud]

Another day, another bout of madness from the United States of Dystopia.

 

[yRaz]

Oh, thank goodness. I thought my tacobell addiction made me the largest polluter in the US

 

[NumberNine]

I guess I've just been miseducated and led to believe pollution is harmful when in reality, it creates jobs and makes life better for everyone. Surely they wouldn't do anything bad for the children.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

While the net zero carbon idea is ridiculous, so is creating more emissions than Ireland.

This is one of the downsides to the solution of data centers providing their own power. The power generation you can throw up quickly at any location is not necessarily the best way to generate power. Everything has trade offs but we aren’t taking any time to consider them as we plow full speed ahead.

 

[Kirby1]

Before Trump, the US had reduced its emissions every year for 10+ years in a row.

Shocking how far we have gone in the other direction.

Won't be any bot accounts in this thread unless they come just to reply to other comments. None will comment on the topic itself.

 

[toooooot]

I see it as an opportunity to become first to not use any water and generate their own electricity.
Heck, even give them some money in a form of 0 interest credit.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Love the headline… but let’s not pretend that it’s not purposefully misleading in order to generate clicks…

First off, 33 million tons is a permitted maximum, not necessarily what Amazon will actually emit. And they are hoping that they can augment with wind/solar down the road in order to minimize it.

Also, the alternative is to connect it to Texas’ already insufficient power grid - which would be far worse to the people relying on it.

Datacenters are essential- if they aren’t built in the west, China will grab the lead instead.

Given the choice of Amazon powering it themselves or having the state do it, this is a no-brainer…

Down the line, hopefully cleaner energy will be cost-effective… hard to criticize something that hadn’t even happened yet…

 

[airbornex]

Amazon says the world has changed since its climate pledge. Apparently the climate stayed the same, but AI arrived with a very persuasive expense account.

 

[pnntmp]

Fantastic news! Hope they'll build it as fast as possible.

Notably, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, promising to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Since then, though, its emissions have climbed sharply: the company's emissions tied to purchased electricity rose 34% in 2025 alone.

Did you spend the recent years in hibernation or what?
"Climate change", "net zero" and all that went down the drain long ago. Yet another piece of fantastic news, although it's not exactly new, we're way past the climate hysteria peak now. Anyway, carbon emissions is just a statistical number without significance.
Of course, that didn't stop the author from spreading misinformation - 33 million tons CO2 per year is the approved amount they can reach, the actual value will be far less

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

My electric bill may stay the same, but my natural gas bill probably just went through the roof.

 

[VitalyT]

Whatever official plunker got richer off this, should go in jail.