Microsoft, Google, Meta Build Multi‑GW Gas Plants for AI
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Microsoft announced a partnership with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to build a natural gas power plant in West Texas, with a potential capacity of 5 gigawatts.
- Google confirmed a collaboration with Crusoe to construct a 933‑megawatt natural gas power plant in North Texas.
- Meta added seven additional natural gas power plants to its Hyperion data center in Louisiana, raising total capacity to 7.46 gigawatts.
- Wood Mackenzie reported turbine prices could rise 195% by year‑end versus 2019, and that new orders cannot be placed until 2028, with a six‑year delivery lead time.
- U.S. Geological Survey estimated a single region’s natural gas reserves could supply the United States for ten months.
- Energy Information Administration notes natural gas supplies about 40% of U.S. electricity generation, linking electricity prices to gas costs.
Why it matters: The new gas plants give AI firms direct power control, but the turbine shortage and projected 195% price jump raise electricity costs for households and gas‑intensive industries across the grid, as natural gas supplies about 40% of U.S. electricity generation.
