--- title: "The AI Data Center Boom Is Causing a Gigantic Spike in Smog-Spewing Gas Power Plants" description: "Energy companies plan to increase the amount of gas-fired electrical capacity by as much as 44 percent by 2030 across the US." date: "2026-10-11" modified: "2026-10-11" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-data-center-boom-smog-spewing-gas-power" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Energy" - "Environment" - "Ethics" - "Fossil Fuels" - "Future Society" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" --- # The AI Data Center Boom Is Causing a Gigantic Spike in Smog-Spewing Gas Power Plants ![A gas power plant emitting clouds.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* The United States runs on gas powered generators. As of 2022, the US had [nearly 1,000 gas-fired plants](), which was already more than the next nine countries combined. Under returning president Donald Trump, the country's embrace of high-carbon power has [only accelerated](), as energy developers abandon environmentally-friendly projects like [off-shore wind farms]() in favor of more noxious gas- and coal-powered facilities. As if our [rapidly warming world]() wasn't being choked by enough smog, the AI boom is now adding even *more* fuel to the proverbial fire. According to a [new analysis]() by the Environment America Research and Policy Center, first flagged [by *Electrek*](), the buildout of more AI infrastructure will come with a 44 percent increase in gas-fired generator capacity over the next four years. That's a stunning rise of nearly 20 gigawatts by 2030, compared to the country's current gas generator capacity of 41.8 gigawatts, a milestone which took centuries of development — and untold tons of carbon exhaust — to reach. As *Electrek* notes, the planned expansion of gas capacity exceeds the combined output of every single US state except for Texas, California, and Florida. And as more [noisome gas facilities]() appear on the American horizon, planned green energy installations are being axed — with a 34 percent decrease in planned wind farm capacity since December of 2025. "The data is clear: surging electricity demand to power data centers is putting our nation's transition to clean energy at risk," chief operating officer for The Public Interest Network Andre Delattre told *Electrek*. "Given the lifespans of new gas plants, these facilities could lock America into decades of continued fossil fuel dependence. Any potential benefits of data centers won't mean anything if we destroy the planet in the process." Making matters worse, Environment America's capacity forecast doesn't account for planned gas plants which will be hooked up directly to data center facilities themselves, like the turbines powering Elon Musk's [1.2 gigawatt data center](), which are currently choking poor majority-Black communities in Memphis, Tennessee. It's difficult to say for sure how much more capacity these bolt-on reactors account for, but if [present-day practices]() are any indication, the air in the US is about to get a lot filthier. **More on data centers:** *[Retired Air Force Colonel Warns Americans That It's Dangerous to Live Near Data Centers Because You Could Be Targeted or Killed]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()