--- title: "AI Data Centers Are Causing Unfathomable Amounts of Air Pollution, and It Gets Worse With Each New One They Build" description: "Gas generators powering energy-hungry data centers are set to emit incomprehensible amounts of exhaust in the years to come." date: "2026-08-08" modified: "2026-08-08" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-data-centers-air-pollution-generators-worse" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Environment" - "Ethics" - "Future Society" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" --- # AI Data Centers Are Causing Unfathomable Amounts of Air Pollution, and It Gets Worse With Each New One They Build ![A photo illustration of a gas power station generating pollution.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* The amount of pollution spilling out of fossil-fuel generators is astounding. In the United States, this explosion of emissions is led by states like Texas, which on a global scale is comparable [only to China]() in terms of new infrastructure powered by dead dinosaurs. And as more data centers crop up throughout the US, that problem — of rising emissions linked to the accelerating demand for any kind of electricity — is only going to get worse. According to reporting [by the *New York Times*](), the US currently has at least 82 data center-linked gas generators either in development or in the proposal stage. These are massive facilities which rival public electrical generators in size and power, only they're not managed by the government, and the power they generate isn't meant for citizens. Instead, these are private generators, developed by big tech companies like Mark Zuckerberg's [Meta]() or Elon Musk's [xAI](). The electricity they'll supply is intended only for data centers, which grow ever-hungrier for power as new iterations of AI chips and energy-hungry large language models enter into production. Assuming all 82 of those plants come online as planned, the *NYT* notes they could spew enough emissions in one year to rival the output of half the passenger cars in the US. That's an astonishing amount of pollution, made possible thanks to industry-friendly state regulators in places like Texas and Ohio, where permits for behemoth fossil fuel fired generators are approved in as little as 18 days, often without public disclosure. It's possible that [moratoriums on new data centers]() might slow the burn, but unless states begin the unlikely task of banning new gas generators for existing facilities, we can expect US fossil fuel emissions to [continue to rise]() precipitously in the years to come. **More on data centers:** *[The Number of Regular People Being Arrested for Protesting Data Centers Is Astounding]()* ## 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]()