Amazon Builds Giant Gas Power Plant in Texas
The GW Ranch project with 35 turbines and 7.65 gigawatts of capacity could become the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The GW Ranch project with 35 turbines and 7.65 gigawatts of capacity could become the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
American tech giant Amazon confirmed on Friday, August 8, 2026, that it is financing the construction of a massive private gas power plant in Texas. The facility, named GW Ranch, is intended exclusively to power its data centers and will not be connected to the public electricity grid, a practice that is becoming increasingly common among tech companies in the race to meet the energy demands of artificial intelligence.
According to a report by the French news agency AFP, as carried by Le Figaro, the plant will have a permit to release more than 30 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, which would make it the largest single polluter of its kind in the United States. The facility's capacity of 7.65 gigawatts is more than four times the output of the EPR nuclear reactor at Flamanville, France.
Market intelligence firm Cleanview was the first to link three permits for data center construction that Amazon filed this week with the GW Ranch gas plant, which is being developed by Pacifico Energy. Analysis of satellite imagery has determined that the facility will have 35 turbines and will be located in an arid region of Texas, near the Mexican border.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, this plant is larger than any gas plant currently operating in the U.S. An even larger facility, with a capacity of 9.2 gigawatts, is planned in the state of Ohio as part of a public-private partnership involving Tokyo-based multinational investment holding company SoftBank. That plant would be connected to the grid but would also power a data center.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the project details and emphasized the company's commitment to bearing the real costs. "Amazon wants to fully pay for the actual cost of powering our operations," he told Le Figaro. He added that this is exactly what their new project in Pecos County does: "It will be powered by a dedicated plant that will not increase electricity prices for Texas households."
Amazon also stated that it is exploring the possibility of adding solar energy at the site and will use non-potable water to avoid straining local water supplies. The company reiterated its goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
Building dedicated power plants outside the public grid is becoming an increasingly widespread trend among tech giants seeking to accelerate the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. While gas plants are less polluting than coal-fired ones, they still represent a significant source of emissions responsible for climate change. An additional problem is methane leakage, an extremely potent greenhouse gas, during natural gas production, as well as emissions of toxic gases and fine particles that can harm the health of local communities.
