AI Energy Hunger Drives Amazon and Nvidia to Multi-Billion Investments in Power Infrastructure

According to The Information, Nvidia is investing up to three billion dollars in Lancium, the power infrastructure developer behind the OpenAI and Oracle data center in Texas, for about 20 percent of the company, which is valued at around ten billion dollars. Lancium already has four gigawatts of power under contract in Texas and is developing sites for up to 15 additional gigawatts. Concurrently, Amazon is investing in a huge gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas, which, according to The New York Times, could emit up to 33 million tons of CO₂ per year, potentially becoming the dirtiest power plant in the US. The plant is expected to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power for an Amazon data center using 35 gas turbines. Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan emphasized that the company's climate goals remain, but admitted that AI data centers could complicate these goals. Environmental groups warn of health and environmental damage. Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather estimates that an intensive user of agentic AI consumes about as much energy per year as a clothes dryer, with the trend increasing.