AI Demand Spurs US Gas Plants at Twice China's Pace

States across the political spectrum are slamming the brakes on data center construction as the facilities strain power grids, pollute the air and drive up energy costs for ordinary residents. Governors Kathy Hochul in New York and Greg Abbott in Texas both announced moratoriums in early August, halting new hyperscale projects while regulators examine their impact on electricity rates and infrastructure.

New York’s one-year pause requires developers to prove that new centers will not raise bills for ratepayers and that communities receive fair benefits. Texas’s measure directs energy regulators to audit existing sites before any further expansion. These moves reflect mounting frustration with the industry’s rapid growth, fueled by artificial intelligence demand that has the five largest tech firms on track to spend more than $750 billion on capital projects this year, much of it for data infrastructure.

The backlash extends beyond statehouses. A federal bill backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposes a nationwide moratorium, while Senator Josh Hawley has joined efforts to shield consumers from higher electricity prices. Candidates in Michigan and Pennsylvania are also campaigning against unchecked development, warning that the projects could shift political control in key races.

At the federal level the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule that would let data centers avoid public disclosure of air pollution under the Clean Air Act. The change would make reporting of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and heavy metals voluntary in many cases, removing a key tool communities use to challenge permits. Former EPA official Joe Goffman said the proposal abandons the law’s promise of public oversight, allowing projects to move forward with limited scrutiny.

That regulatory shift coincides with a surge in gas-fired power plants built to serve data centers. Analysis from Global Energy Monitor shows the United States is now developing nearly three times as much gas capacity as China, with projects tied to data centers rising from 97 gigawatts at the end of 2025 to more than 189 gigawatts by mid-2026. Roughly half the new capacity is dedicated to behind-the-meter plants that bypass the public grid, a tactic encouraged by the administration through voluntary pledges signed by Microsoft, Meta, Google and OpenAI.

If completed, the gas expansion could increase US power-sector emissions by up to 20 percent while locking in decades of planet-warming pollution. Communities near proposed sites have little say once disclosure requirements are weakened, leaving residents to bear the health costs without advance notice or meaningful input.

The pattern is clear: an industry racing to meet AI-driven demand is reshaping energy policy and local politics alike. Bipartisan resistance at every level of government signals that the costs, once borne quietly by ratepayers and the environment, are now impossible to ignore.