Senate Democrats are grilling Meta, OpenAI, and other tech giants on gas-powered AI data centers. (Latitude Media)
For context: The AI boom has sparked a gas boom. Between 2024 and 2025, gas power development tripled from 85 GW to 252 GW—a third of which is planned to power data centers on-site.
Last Friday, officials launched a probe into 12 gas projects planned by hyperscalers. They plan to ask why these companies overlooked cleaner power sources. The investigation will also examine potential greenhouse gas emissions and effects on local air quality, along with actions aimed at reducing these impacts.