An Amazon data center could have the worst polluting power plant in the country
An Amazon data center could have the worst polluting power plant in the country
亚马逊的一个数据中心可能拥有全美污染最严重的发电厂
To power its new West Texas data center, Amazon is investing in the construction of a new power plant that could be one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the US, according to the New York Times. The new gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas has received significant investment from Amazon and, at least initially, would not be connected to the state’s power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would primarily deliver its 7.65 gigawatts of electricity to the new data center. 据《纽约时报》报道，为了给其位于德克萨斯州西部的新数据中心供电，亚马逊正在投资建设一座新的发电厂，该电厂可能成为美国最大的单一温室气体排放源之一。这座位于德克萨斯州佩科斯县（Pecos County）的新天然气发电厂获得了亚马逊的大量投资，且至少在初期不会接入该州的电网。相反，其 35 台天然气涡轮机将主要为其 7.65 吉瓦的电力需求提供支持，直接供应给该数据中心。
According to Cleanview, which tracks data centers and their associated power projects, GW Ranch received a permit from Texas allowing for the emission of up to 33 million tons of CO2, more than even the largest coal plant in the country. Plants rarely emit as much greenhouse gas as their permits allow, but it’s still notable that the restrictions on its pollution levels are so lax. Amazon has confirmed that it purchased the site and plans to purchase power from GW Ranch. 据追踪数据中心及其相关电力项目的 Cleanview 称，GW Ranch 已获得德克萨斯州颁发的许可证，允许其排放高达 3300 万吨的二氧化碳，这一数字甚至超过了全美最大的燃煤电厂。虽然发电厂实际排放的温室气体很少达到许可证允许的上限，但其污染限制如此宽松仍值得关注。亚马逊已证实其购买了该场地，并计划从 GW Ranch 购买电力。
Many companies, including Meta and Google, have started building their own power plants, turning to gas, coal, and other non-renewable energy sources as the demands of AI data centers have skyrocketed. The Trump administration has sought to lift restrictions on such polluting power plants. 随着人工智能数据中心需求的激增，包括 Meta 和 Google 在内的许多公司已开始建设自己的发电厂，转而使用天然气、煤炭和其他不可再生能源。特朗普政府一直寻求取消对这类高污染发电厂的限制。
Even if the GW Ranch site only emits a portion of the greenhouse gases it’s permitted to, it would still represent a significant setback for Amazon’s Climate Pledge. Jeff Bezos pledged to make his company carbon neutral by 2040. However, its emissions have climbed for several years in a row due to the demands of AI. Amazon spokeswoman Margaret Callahan told the New York Times that, “The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge,” but that, “our commitment hasn’t changed.” 即使 GW Ranch 排放的温室气体仅为其许可额度的一部分，这对亚马逊的“气候承诺”（Climate Pledge）来说仍是一个重大挫折。杰夫·贝索斯曾承诺到 2040 年实现公司碳中和。然而，由于人工智能的需求，亚马逊的排放量已连续多年攀升。亚马逊发言人玛格丽特·卡拉汉（Margaret Callahan）告诉《纽约时报》：“现在的世界与我们共同发起气候承诺时已经不同了”，但她强调“我们的承诺没有改变”。
Update August 9th: Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan provided the following statement to The Verge: 8 月 9 日更新：亚马逊发言人玛格丽特·卡拉汉向《The Verge》提供了以下声明：
Amazon believes in paying the full costs of powering our operations. Our new planned data center campus in Pecos County does just that: it’s powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families and is designed to transition to grid-connected service as interconnection timelines allow. We’re also exploring opportunities for solar energy and battery storage on site. To ensure we don’t put stress on the local watershed, we’ll use water that isn’t suitable for drinking or irrigation, custom cooling technology that minimizes water use wherever possible, and we’ll explore the beneficial use of produced water as an additional non-potable source. This new data center campus in Pecos County is a long-term commitment that we expect will create thousands of new jobs. 亚马逊坚信应承担运营用电的全部成本。我们在佩科斯县规划的新数据中心园区正是如此：它由新建的现场发电设施供电，不会增加德克萨斯州家庭的用电成本，并计划在互联时间表允许的情况下过渡到接入电网服务。我们还在探索现场太阳能和电池储能的机会。为确保不对当地流域造成压力，我们将使用不适合饮用或灌溉的水源，采用尽可能减少用水量的定制冷却技术，并将探索将采出水作为额外的非饮用水源进行有益利用。佩科斯县的这个新数据中心园区是一项长期承诺，我们预计它将创造数千个新的就业机会。