Amazon's GW Ranch permitted for 33 million tons CO2 in Texas
Amazon is building a huge natural-gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas, to keep its new AI data center running.
Called GW Ranch, the facility will use 35 turbines primarily for Amazon and is designed to produce a massive 7.65 gigawatts of electricity.
But the project's getting heat for its environmental impact, especially since it has a permit allowing it to emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide, higher than the permitted emissions of the largest coal-fired power plant in the US.
Amazon data centers withdrew 2.5B gallons
Along with emissions, the new site adds to Amazon's water footprint: its global data centers withdrew approximately 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025.
On the bright side, Amazon says direct water use at data centers it owns and operates declined 2% from 2024 and promises to return more water to communities than it uses by the end of this decade, even as AI keeps driving up demand for power and resources.