"The US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast. This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with planned and under-construction projects earmarked for 2026 set to nearly triple the amount of existing gas capacity, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found."
"The US is at the forefront of a global push for gas that is set to escalate over the next five years, after tripling its planned gas-fired capacity in 2025. Much of this new capacity will be devoted to the vast electricity needs of AI, with a third of the 252 gigawatts of gas power in development set to be situated on site at datacenters."
"The gas projects in development in the US will, if all completed, cause 12.1bn tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetimes, which is double the current annual emissions coming from all sources in the US. Worldwide, the planned gas boom will cause 53.2bn tonnes of emissions over projects' lifetimes if fulfilled, pushing the planet towards even worse heatwaves, droughts, floods and other climate impacts."
US planned and under-construction gas-fired power capacity is surging to record levels, driven largely by the electricity demands of AI datacenters. Projects earmarked for 2026 would nearly triple existing global gas capacity, and the US tripled its planned gas-fired capacity in 2025. About one-third of the 252 GW of gas power in development will be located onsite at datacenters. If completed, US gas projects would emit an estimated 12.1 billion tonnes of CO2 over their lifetimes, double current annual US emissions. Worldwide planned gas projects would emit about 53.2 billion tonnes over their lifetimes, locking in long-term climate impacts and highlighting a policy choice between fossil expansion and renewable alternatives.
#gas-fired-power-expansion #ai-datacenter-energy-demand #carbon-dioxide-emissions #united-states-energy-policy
Read at www.theguardian.com
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