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Amazon backs power plant that may become top source of US climate pollution
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Amazon is financing a natural-gas power plant in Texas to run a new AI-focused data center, a move that could make the plant the nation’s biggest single source of carbon emissions.
The on-site plant lets Amazon bypass lengthy grid-connection processes and keep electricity costs stable for nearby residents, but it also threatens to emit more CO₂ than any other U.S. plant, clashing with Amazon’s net-zero pledge. Engineers building or operating services on that infrastructure will have to account for heightened regulatory, community-relations, and carbon-reporting risks.
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Amazon’s Texas data center will be powered by a dedicated natural-gas plant that could become the largest single emitter of climate-polluting gases in the United States.
The on-site generation is marketed as a way to avoid grid strain and keep local electricity prices flat, but it is permitted to release roughly 33 million tons of CO₂ annually.
Community lawsuits and potential policy shifts could limit the plant’s operation, creating uncertainty for services that depend on its power.
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