Thirty percent of planned data center capacity is slated to use power built directly by developers, with most companies turning to natural gas generators despite touting renewables, according to a new analysis.
The findings — from data center tracking firm Cleanview — offer one of the most detailed pictures to date on how the artificial intelligence industry could affect emissions and electricity.
Companies are finding ways around a shortage of gas turbines to get “behind-the-meter” AI projects online fast, using “anything they can get their hands on” for power, the report says. That includes mobile gas generators strapped to semitrucks and repurposed turbines originally designed for aircraft or cruise ships.
“Data center developers are in this great race,” said Michael Thomas, CEO of Cleanview, in an interview. “They are finding workarounds” to the turbine shortage.
