DIGITAL ECONOMY · ANALYSIS
Data centers: US gas power projects gain ground
A report covered by The Verge describes an increasing share of fossil fuels in US power projects. Data centers contribute to demand, alongside factories and electric vehicles. These projects, however, do not represent capacity that has already been built.
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An article published by The Verge on October 19 covers a report from the Environmental Defense Fund and Atlas Public Policy released the previous week. It describes an increase in fossil fuel power infrastructure projects in the United States, amid rising demand linked in particular to data centers, factories and electric vehicles.
According to the report, which analyzes data from the US Energy Information Administration, the share of fossil fuel infrastructure in planned new capacity rose from 5% in 2024 to 30% in the second quarter of 2026. These figures describe projects: they do not mean that these facilities are already producing electricity.
The report also compares the costs of new facilities. It puts those of large-scale solar and wind farms at between $68 and $69 per megawatt-hour on average, compared with $90 for combined-cycle gas power plants. This comparison covers the categories studied; on its own, it cannot quantify the cost of supplying power to a particular data center.
The main uncertainty concerns whether the projects will be completed. The Verge notes that some could be abandoned, particularly if demand forecasts for AI data centers are overstated. For the digital sector, expectations are therefore also at stake: projected electricity needs can steer investment well before the corresponding consumption is observed.