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Data Centers Are Building Their Own Gas Power Plants in Texas || Not so long ago, developers of the massive server farms talked about powering them with wind and solar power. But now, with the coming of power-hungry AI platforms, they’re bypassing the grid, building their own gas-fired power plants

Not so long ago, developers of the massive server farms talked about powering them with wind and solar power. But now, with the coming of power-hungry AI platforms, they’re bypassing the grid, building their own gas-fired power plants on site.

Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate NewsIREN prioritizes renewable energy for its data centers—giant warehouses full of advanced computers and high-powered cooling systems that can be configured to produce crypto currency or generate artificial intelligence. Unburned methane released into the atmosphere has more than 80 times the near-term warming effect of carbon dioxide, leading some studies to conclude that ubiquitous leaks in gas supply infrastructure make it as impactful as coal to the global climate. “Traditional grid interconnections simply can’t keep pace with hyperscalers’ power demands, especially as AI accelerates energy requirements,” Sailfish founder Ryan Hughes told the website Data Center Dynamics at the time.

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