Amazon in Texas: It's All About the Gas

Amazon has confirmed plans to build a huge artificial intelligence center in West Texas. The campus will be powered by a massive natural gas plant that could release more greenhouse gases than any other single power source in the United States. The project raises big questions about how tech companies are getting their energy and what that means for the environment.

Amazon's Texas campus will sit on more than 8,000 acres in Pecos County. Texas regulators have already approved the project to release more than 33 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. For comparison, the dirtiest power plant in the U.S. in 2024 — a coal plant in Alabama — released about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide that year.

Rather than connecting to the state's main electrical grid, Amazon will generate its own power right on-site. This is called a 'behind-the-meter' approach, meaning the facility makes its own electricity instead of drawing it from the shared power network. An Amazon spokesperson said the campus 'won't raise electricity costs for Texas families and is designed to transition to grid-connected service.'

Amazon is not the only tech company making this move. Since early 2025, data center developers have announced 90 gigawatts of behind-the-meter gas projects — enough electricity to power several large cities. Another company, Fermi America — led by former Texas Governor Rick Perry — is planning a huge AI complex near Amarillo with on-site gas, nuclear, and solar power.

Environmental groups are worried about what all this means for air quality and climate change. Luke Metzger, the head of Environment Texas, said many tech companies are 'already backtracking or throwing climate goals out the window.' He warned that the rush to get power quickly comes at a great cost to the planet's future.

Amazon says it still plans to reach net-zero emissions across all of its global operations by 2040. The company also points to 10 gigawatts of clean energy projects it has helped build in Texas since 2010. Amazon says it is also looking into adding solar panels and battery storage at the new Texas site, and expects the campus to create thousands of new jobs.