Projects this year expected to triple global gas capacity, forecast finds, as concerns grow over impacts on planet
The US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.
This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with planned and under-construction projects earmarked for 2026 set to nearly triple the amount of existing gas capacity, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found.
The US is at the forefront of a global push for gas that is set to escalate over the next five years, after tripling its planned gas-fired capacity in 2025. Much of this new capacity will be devoted to the vast electricity needs of AI, with a third of the 252 gigawatts of gas power in development set to be situated on site at datacenters.
If we were a wise society, we wouldn’t be investing all this money in nonsense like AI, robot taxis or rockets to Mars, we would be investing every dollar possible into making our electric grid as efficient and resilient as possible, building out solar and wind with battery storage as much as possible, and building strategically positioned nuclear power plants across the country for grid stability. But, we are not wise, so here we are.
Robot taxis would actually be a net positive for the environment, especially when all cars are self-driving.
Any environmental benefits of robot taxis would pale in comparison to reducing car rides significantly, or eliminating them entirely, in favor of walking, biking, or taking public transportation.
If self driving cars were only cars on the road, then the environmental benefits would be much higher than it would seem.
Things like rush hour traffic wouldn’t exist, and traffic lights would only be needed to allow pedestrians to cross.