Amazon Criticized for Data Center Power Plant Investment... "Could Become US's Largest Polluter"

Environmental concerns are growing as Amazon invests in the construction of a fossil fuel power plant for its data center in Texas, USA.

According to the U.S. daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 8th (local time), Amazon officially confirmed that it is investing in the construction of a large-scale natural gas power plant as part of its data center establishment project in Pecos County, Texas.

Recently, the developer purchased the land for the power plant, and plans to operate 35 natural gas turbines in the future to supply up to 7.65 GW (gigawatts) of electricity to Amazon's data center.

This is interpreted as a measure to stably secure the electricity essential for data centers.

Data centers, which are essential infrastructure in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, require significant amounts of electricity and water.

Because of this, criticisms have emerged that the establishment of data centers causes a surge in electricity demand, raising electricity bills for nearby residents.

Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokesperson, explained, "To ensure that the data center does not raise electricity bills for Texas households, we plan to generate power on-site and receive the electricity."

The problem is that by choosing natural gas power, a fossil fuel rather than renewable energy, it has heightened concerns over environmental pollution.

According to regulatory filings, this power plant could emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the largest scale among power plants in the United States.

In addition, gas power plants emit smog-causing pollutants, which can lead to heart disease and asthma.

The NYT pointed out that "it could become the largest climate polluter of any single facility in the United States."

Previously in 2019, Amazon participated in the Climate Pledge, aiming to achieve the Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule.

At the time, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos held a press conference and participated as the first signatory to the Climate Pledge, publicly vowing to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

However, Amazon's greenhouse gas emissions have shown an upward trend every year, and it is now even building a gas power plant that is critical to carbon emissions.

An Amazon spokesperson explained, "The world has changed from when we joined the climate pledge, but the commitment itself has not changed."

They added that they are also reviewing the use of solar energy and battery storage systems at the data center.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.