New data center-linked gas projects may emit more greenhouse gases than entire countries. (Wired)
Just 11 of these campuses have the potential to emit over 129M tons of GHGs per year, according to Wired’s analysis of air permit docs. That’s more than Morocco (a population of over 38M people) did in 2024—and even if actual emissions end up being half of the permit estimates, they’d still beat Norway’s (pop. around 5M people) from that year.
While Big Tech claims natural gas is just a “bridge” to clean energy, skeptics abound. Because data centers require constant, unwavering power, these private gas plants will run more consistently than traditional grid-connected plants, which fluctuate with consumer demand. So why cross the bridge at all?