posted in Technology
New Amazon Data Center Is Set to Have the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.31A.fS0X.EriRxZvEz-vV
www.nytimes.comNew Amazon Data Center Is Set to Have the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S. (Gift Article)The tech giant is investing in the natural-gas-burning power plant as part of a huge data center in Texas, even as it pledges to honor climate commitments.Wouldn’t it be cheaper in the long run to just put solar panels all over the buildings and parking lots, and maybe some surrounding fields, and an array of batteries to run off of at night? Maybe add some wind mills too, seeing as Texas generates a tremendous amount of power with wind already.
Replying to @Manjushri@piefed.social
A single data center is mid double digit MW. They want to build groups of DCs in one location. As someone else said, a nuclear reactor is honestly the most efficient way for them to operate eventually.
Replying to @gagcar@lemmus.org
unfortunately nuclear reactors take forever to build up, plus the regulatory approval is very slow. and its expensive to maintain. i dont think the techbros think too long ahead. its not as easy as building a coal/gas powerplant.
by the time they are done building one nuclear plant AI wouldve bursted by now.
You’re not wrong. One of the newest reactors to come on line is reactor 3 at Plant Vogtle in GA. After as much as 5 years for the approval process, the reactor broke ground in 2009 and didn’t start producing power until 2023. That’s just shy of 2 decades from start to finish. As much as my wind and solar idea is flawed, nuclear is as much of a non-starter. These folks may want to open their data center a little sooner than 2045.