U.S. gas capacity for data centers doubles in six months amid AI buildout

The volume of proposed natural gas generation for U.S. data centers nearly doubled to 189 gigawatts in the first half of 2024, outpacing China's capacity additions and potentially offsetting climate gains.

First covered Aug 24, 2026 · 9:01 PM PT · 5 articles · no longer in the live window

U.S. gas capacity for data centers doubles in six months amid AI buildout — Image via wired.com

Coverage

31d Latitude Media The problem with the US gas bonanza for data centers — In 2026, the U.S. nearly doubled the gas capacity it’s developing for data centers, risking reversing any emissions cuts achieved so far.

32d Heatmap News The U.S. Is Building Natural Gas Power Twice as Fast as China — The race to build data centers is driving a natural gas boom in the U.S. power sector unlike any seen before.

32d Guardian Environment US building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China in AI boom, analysis finds — There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid ‘frenzy’ to build more datacenters The US has surged ahead of China in the building…

32d Inside Climate News Data Center Developers in Texas Plan Massive New Gas Power Projects — The 12 largest gas power projects planned in Texas are all specifically intended to run data centers, according to data released Tuesday by Global Energy…

33d Wired Science Data Centers Are Driving an Alarming Gas Power Expansion in the US — There’s no clearer sign of the data center boom than rampant gas projects that have been proposed or that are already under construction.

Primary sources

globalenergymonitor.org U.S. gas power proposals tied to data centers nearly double in six months — cited by 3 of the outlets above

bloomberg.com Data Center Gas Plants To Boost Us Power Emissions By 20 (bloomberg.com) — cited by 2 of the outlets above

commerce.gov Fact Sheet New Energy Projects Us Japan Trade Deal (commerce.gov)

Related coverage

32d Heatmap News U.S. Pipeline of Gas Plants Nearly Doubles

33d Inside Climate News The Trump Administration Has Spent Billions Boosting Gas Exports, Spurring More Fracking

32d Guardian Environment Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds

32d Texas Energy & Power Texas power companies and utilities see stellar 2Q on data center expansion

32d Latitude Media Data centers’ hidden water footprint is linked to the grid

More coverage from around the web

americanactionforum.org AI Data Center Power Surge: Shifting Trends Toward Natural Gas - AAF

techcrunch.com Data center demand drives 66% surge in natural gas power plant costs | TechCrunch

datacenterdynamics.com How natural gas is powering the US AI data center boom - DCD

bloomberg.com Data Center Gas Plants to Boost US Power Emissions by 20% - Bloomberg

rbccm.com Natural gas powers the data center boom | RBCCM

Appeared in: 2026-08-25 (#2) · 2026-08-26 (#4) · 2026-08-27 (#5)

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