Why? Amazon is developing 44 GW of data centers, fast. In the past year, the hyperscaler nearly doubled its data center capacity in the US, according to a new Cleanview report. And it needs a lot of electrons.
What it means for utilities: Amazon once favored sites with spare grid capacity. But then, utilities “simply ran out of power,” Cleanview CEO Michael Thomas wrote. Now, utilities are scrambling to build more generation—like Pacifico Energy’s nearly 8 GW gas plant planned for West Texas.
The big picture: US utilities are planning to build 140 GW of new gas capacity in the next decade to power data centers. It’s not going to be cheap: The cost of constructing a new gas plant has ballooned 22% since 2023.
Wed, Sep 23
NEWS: Amazon’s data center boom is driving plans for 17.5 GW of new gas generation.
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