Amazon's planned Texas AI data center could be a top US CO2 source

Amazon is reportedly building a custom 7.65GW natural gas power plant with 35 turbines in Texas to power a new AI data center. Permits reportedly allow up to 33 million tons of CO2 emissions per year, which would make it one of the largest single sources of CO2 emissions in the US.

Why it matters: This is a concrete, quantified example of AI infrastructure buildout driving new fossil-fuel generation rather than clean power, at a scale comparable to a large coal plant. It sharpens the tension already visible in other stories this cycle about AI data centers straining local power grids and provoking community backlash.