Amazon Texas data center emissions could reach 33 million tons under permit

Amazon’s planned Pecos County campus puts Amazon Texas data center emissions under scrutiny because its initial power supply would come from a separate on-site natural-gas plant permitted to emit as much as 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The campus is in early construction, and the emissions figure is a permitted ceiling rather than an estimate of what the project will actually release.

Amazon confirmed to Distilled that it acquired the GW Ranch site in West Texas for an AI data-center campus and plans to buy electricity from a plant being developed by Pacifico Energy. The project raises questions about Amazon’s stated goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040 under The Climate Pledge.

Could Amazon’s Texas data center become the largest U.S. pollution source?

Only under two conditions: the gas plant would have to be built to its permitted specifications and operate at its authorized emissions maximum. Reporting by the New York Times and others says that outcome would make it the country’s largest single source of climate pollution. A permit sets an upper limit, however, and does not mean a plant will emit that amount in a given year.

Permit records described by Distilled and SiliconANGLE specify 35 gas turbines with up to 7.65 gigawatts of generating capacity. Texas granted the plant permission in January to emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 annually, according to Distilled. The emissions concern therefore concerns the proposed power plant serving the campus, rather than the data-center buildings by themselves.

Amazon said the Pecos County campus will be powered initially by new on-site generation and is designed to shift to grid-connected service as interconnection timelines allow. The company also said the arrangement will not raise electricity costs for Texas families. Those are company statements, not independently verified results.

The project is a notable change in how Amazon is adding cloud infrastructure. Distilled reported that Amazon had previously powered its data centers with grid electricity, and described GW Ranch as its first major off-grid data-center investment. The outlet said Amazon filed three construction permits for data-center buildings and that land clearing had begun at the site.

What has Amazon said about the project’s climate impact?

Amazon has maintained that its 2040 net-zero commitment remains in place. A company spokesperson said the world has changed since Amazon helped found The Climate Pledge, while adding that its commitment had not changed, according to TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE. TechCrunch also reported that Amazon said its emissions rose 16% in the prior year.

• Pacifico Energy has said it plans up to 750 megawatts of on-site solar generation and 1.8 gigawatts of battery storage, according to Distilled. Those facilities are proposed, not operating.
• Amazon has said it is exploring solar and battery-storage opportunities at the site, according to The Independent.
• Amazon said it expects the campus to create thousands of jobs, another projection that has not yet been independently verified.

The immediate fact is narrower than the headline risk: Amazon is advancing an AI campus with an initially on-site gas supply whose permit allows exceptional emissions. Whether it reaches that ceiling will depend on what is built and how it operates.

This story draws on original reporting from SiliconANGLE.