U.S. gas‑plant boom spurred by AI data‑center power demand

Rising electricity consumption by artificial‑intelligence data centers is driving an unprecedented surge in natural‑gas power‑plant construction across the United States. Utilities are fast‑tracking gas‑fired projects because renewable wind and solar farms are not coming online quickly enough to meet the new load, and some older coal plants are being kept in service longer than planned.

New York legislators passed the Responsible Data Center Development Act, imposing a one‑year moratorium on permits for new large data centers and requiring incremental renewable‑energy sourcing that reaches 90 % by 2040. Similar renewable‑use proposals are under consideration in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Technology firms such as Google are increasing their own clean‑energy investments, but the immediate need for reliable power is prompting a shift toward gas‑fired capacity.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects electricity use to rise 1 % in 2026 and 3 % in 2027, the strongest four‑year growth since 2000, with data centers projected to account for up to half of the increase in electricity demand through 2030.