Gas-Powered Data Centers for AI Could Emit 129 Million Tons of CO2 Annually, Surpassing Morocco's Emissions
By
Molly Taft
Slow-proofed and worth the wait. Worth its weight in flour.
Summary
A WIRED investigation reveals that natural gas projects powering just 11 data center campuses in the US—built to serve AI companies like OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI—could emit over 129 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. This exceeds the entire annual emissions of Morocco. The findings, drawn from air permit documents, highlight the massive environmental cost of the AI boom as tech companies race to secure energy for hundreds of new data centers across the country.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledNew gas projects linked to just 11 data center campuses around the US have the potential to create more greenhouse gases than the country of Morocco emitted in 2024.
Emissions estimates from air permit documents examined by WIRED show that these natural gas projects...have the potential to emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.
As tech companies race to secure massive power deals to build out hundreds of data centers across the country
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