"Clean Energy Leaders" Like Microsoft Just Love Natural Gas - Because Without AI, We're All Going To Die, Apparently
Clean energy pioneer Microsoft is looking to new gas generation to power a $3.3 billion data center project in Wisconsin. The giant power company NextEra, which during the Biden era unveiled “the most ambitious carbon-emissions-reduction goal ever set by an energy producer” has since the inauguration been more eager to talk about its planned expansion of gas.
Meta announced late last year a 4-million-square-foot data center in the Louisiana delta, which filings show will be powered by new natural gas turbines. Even the investment company that led a 2021 shareholder revolt at ExxonMobil over its sluggish embrace of cleaner energy, Engine No. 1, is doubling down on fossil fuel expansions to power the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. The companies are changing course as their need for electricity to expand computing capacity for AI eclipses what they forecast only a couple of years ago. They say they plan to offset their development of natural gas capacity with equal investments in clean energy like solar and wind.
Still, it’s a major shift for firms that stood against President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine green energy initiatives during his first term. With Trump’s return to the White House, they are embracing his fervor for fossil fuels. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a conference this month that “net zero” emissions goals are “sinister” and threaten to destabilize energy systems.
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Now, the energy demands of tech firms and manufacturers are so acute and the Trump administration’s rollback of climate rules so aggressive, that even coal is making a comeback. But the biggest push is for gas, with more than 220 plants in various stages of development nationwide. They are often pitched as a bridge until more clean power is available, sometimes with promises the plants will eventually be equipped with nascent technology that traps greenhouse gas emissions. But the timeline for installing such “carbon capture” is vague.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/23/ai-gas-trump-climate-fossil/