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.
Not so much a scape goat as an actual major reason: the new AI behemoths are new, they’re COMPLETELY unnecessary, and they’re IMMENSE electricity (and water) hogs.
Not building any new ones and/or getting rid of the existing ones is THE easiest and most effective way to decrease unnecessary power consumption today, bar none.