Amazon is building a natural gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas, to supply electricity to a new AI data center at the same site, according to a New York Times report cited by Tom's Hardware. Permits show the plant would use 35 natural gas turbines to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power and has been authorized to release 33 million tons of CO₂ annually, which the Times report says would make it the largest source of planet-warming gas emissions of any power plant in the country.
The project comes despite Amazon's 2019 pledge, made through The Climate Pledge coalition it co-founded, to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations by 2040. The company's emissions have risen each year for several years, a trend analysts link to the buildout of data centers for AI. Amazon spokeswoman Margaret Callahan acknowledged the shifting landscape, saying "the world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge," while maintaining that "our commitment hasn't changed." Microsoft has made similar statements about struggling to meet its own 2030 sustainability targets amid AI-driven expansion.
Tom's Hardware notes that Amazon's move reflects a broader industry shift toward "behind-the-meter" power generation, in which data center operators build dedicated on-site power sources rather than wait on lengthy grid-connection timelines. While companies including Microsoft and Meta have also pursued nuclear and renewable energy deals, natural gas remains the preferred option for many due to its scalability and speed of deployment, a trend supported by the Trump administration's promotion of oil, natural gas, and coal for data center power over renewables.
In a separate development, the city council in Emporia, Kansas, announced it will hold its August 5 and August 19 meetings virtually and will not allow public comment during either session, following death threats against council members. The city cited public safety in a Facebook statement, saying it remains committed to transparency while taking measures to protect officials and staff, and it directed residents to submit concerns via email or phone instead.
The decision follows an earlier incident in which a teacher, Lux Claridge, was arrested for clapping in support of opposition to a proposed gigawatt-scale AI data center during a council meeting. Claridge told 404 Media, as reported by Tom's Hardware, that the threats did not appear to originate locally but said officials felt "it only takes one" to disrupt a meeting. Claridge said they understood the shift to virtual meetings but objected to the cancellation of public comment without more explanation. The move prompted some residents to protest outside the Emporia municipal auditorium.
During the same meeting, the council voted unanimously to send a citizen petition seeking a ballot measure banning data centers for judicial review, citing concerns about potential lawsuits from either side of the issue. Tom's Hardware notes that while no local jurisdiction is known to have been sued over a data center ban, a Texas state senator has separately warned a Texas county that such a ban would not be legally permissible.