Microsoft and Chevron plan one of the largest gas-powered data center projects in US

微软与雪佛龙计划在美国建设最大的天然气供电数据中心项目之一

Microsoft and Chevron announced plans on Monday to develop a 2.67-gigawatt natural gas power plant in West Texas to serve the tech company’s AI and cloud data centers. Under the 20-year power purchase agreement, the plant will provide dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center. 微软与雪佛龙周一宣布，计划在西得克萨斯州开发一座 2.67 吉瓦（GW）的天然气发电厂，旨在为该科技公司的 AI 和云数据中心提供电力。根据这份为期 20 年的购电协议，该电厂将为微软运营的数据中心提供专用电力。

Two large GE Vernova turbines will generate most of the power, with a Caterpillar subsidiary Solar Turbines providing the rest. (The Solar Turbines name might sound familiar — xAI uses them in its unpermitted power plant near Memphis.) Microsoft will buy power from the power plant for 20 years. 两台大型通用电气（GE Vernova）涡轮机将负责大部分发电任务，其余电力由卡特彼勒（Caterpillar）旗下的 Solar Turbines 公司提供。（Solar Turbines 这个名字听起来可能很耳熟——xAI 在其位于孟菲斯附近未经许可的发电厂中也使用了该公司的设备。）微软将从该电厂购买为期 20 年的电力。

The project will be “among the largest co-located natural gas power and data center developments in the U.S.,” Chevron said in a press release. Though Microsoft has been telegraphing the move for months now, it’s still a significant shift for a company that has been vocal about its sustainability efforts. 雪佛龙在新闻稿中表示，该项目将成为“美国最大的天然气发电与数据中心同址开发项目之一”。尽管微软几个月来一直在暗示这一举措，但对于一家一直高调宣扬其可持续发展努力的公司来说，这仍然是一个重大的转变。

Microsoft has pledged to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2030, a goal that will be harder to reach with this new power plant. Project Kilby, as the power plant is known, will potentially release more than 13 million tons of carbon dioxide, 3,200 tons of criteria air pollutants, and 278,000 pounds of hazardous air pollutants, according to the Environmental Integrity Project. 微软曾承诺在 2030 年前消除其碳排放，而这座新发电厂的建设将使这一目标更难实现。据环境诚信项目（Environmental Integrity Project）称，该发电厂（代号为“Kilby 项目”）预计将排放超过 1300 万吨二氧化碳、3200 吨标准空气污染物以及 27.8 万磅有害空气污染物。