Amazon Authorized to Build Record-Polluting Texas Power Plant

Amazon received regulatory authorization to construct a large-scale data center and an accompanying power plant in Pecos County, Texas. Designed to support the high electricity requirements of commercial artificial intelligence, the facility will employ 35 natural gas turbines to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power.

The project is projected to produce up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. This volume would make the facility the most polluting power plant in United States history, more than doubling the emissions of the current record-holder, the James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant in Alabama.

Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan defended the project, stating that the global environment has changed since the company co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019. While the company claims the on-site generation will prevent electricity costs from rising for Texas families, critics argue the project contradicts Amazon's public commitment to carbon neutrality.