Amazon is investing in a natural-gas power plant for its new West Texas data center that could become one of the largest single sources of greenhouse gas in the United States, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

The gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas — part of a project known as GW Ranch — would initially not be connected to the state's power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would deliver 7.65 gigawatts of electricity primarily to Amazon's new data center. Texas permitted the facility to emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than even the largest coal plant in the country. Plants rarely emit as much as their permits allow, but the lax pollution limits are nonetheless notable. Amazon confirmed that it purchased the site and plans to buy power from GW Ranch.

Amazon is not alone. Meta and Google have also started building their own power plants, turning to gas, coal and other non-renewable sources as the demands of AI data centers have skyrocketed, and the Trump administration has sought to lift restrictions on such polluting plants.

The project represents a significant test of Amazon's Climate Pledge, the commitment made by founder Jeff Bezos to make the company carbon neutral by 2040. Amazon's emissions have climbed for several years in a row, driven largely by AI's energy demands. Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan told The New York Times: "The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge," while insisting "our commitment hasn't changed."

Even if the GW Ranch site emits only a portion of what it is permitted to release, analysts say it would still represent a substantial setback for that goal — and a stark illustration of the environmental cost of the AI buildout.

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