- New US AI data centers could produce more emissions than an entire country
- 11 sites have the potential to emit 129 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year
- Future sustainability of AI remains uncertain
Sustainable Development Week 2026
This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we are publishing to celebrate Earth Day 2026 and promote more sustainable practices. Discover all our content from Sustainable Development Week 2026.
A report finds that new AI data centers in the United States could have the capacity to produce more greenhouse gases than an entire country, subjecting the technology to greater scrutiny and raising more questions about its sustainability.
A Wired investigation found that 11 gas-powered AI data centers could generate more greenhouse gases than all of Morocco in 2024, with a potential 129 million tonnes emitted annually from these sites.
And it’s not just one AI company that’s linked to these new data center campuses, with OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft and xAI all being mentioned in the report.
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Wired notes that the projects have been announced or are already under construction, as AI companies seek to circumvent U.S. power grid restrictions by building their own gas-fired power plants for the sole purpose of powering data centers.
This level of emissions could play a role in the ongoing fight against climate change. Building gas-fired power plants could impact local communities, and these actions could make AI users question whether this is a technology they want to support.
Analysis: AI can be great, but at what cost?
There’s no doubt that AI can do impressive things, like solve a 12-year-old math problem, but it also comes with its fair share of criticism. From mind-blowing results and a perceived lack of quality in certain circumstances, to well-documented sustainability issues and climate issues.
Wired’s investigation points out that a natural gas project from which Microsoft seeks to purchase electricity “could emit more than 11.5 million tons of greenhouse gases each year.” This is more than Jamaica’s annual emissions.
Meanwhile, xAI’s (the company behind Grok) gas turbines in Memphis, Tennessee, and Southaven, Mississippi, could each emit 6.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
The list goes on, as AI data center projects in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin and more, for OpenAI and Meta, are detailed in the full report.
It should be noted that the emissions data comes from power plant models constantly operating at full capacity, which is not the case in reality. Emissions could be two-thirds lower than models suggest, but that would still represent a considerable output of greenhouse gases.
There is no guarantee that all of the gas-powered stations mentioned in the survey will be built, but as demand for AI processing remains strong, tech companies will likely look to keep pace.
Hope remains, however, as some believe AI can be an enabler of sustainability, but for now, the path to cleaner AI is far from set in stone.
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