Whitehouse, Heinrich, and Van Hollen Probe AI Companies About Plans for Colossal Gas-Powered Data Centers

Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today launched an investigation into eight AI companies, including xAI, OpenAI, and Meta, regarding twelve planned data center projects that would be powered by massive new gas plants. The gas plants-many of which are ten or more times the size of the average gas plant currently powering the U.S. electric grid-would emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases and tens of thousands of tons of health-harming pollutants every year.

"You are undoubtedly aware that your local air pollutants-including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and benzene-will pollute the air surrounding the project, creating health issues for your neighbors, including asthma, heart attacks, stroke, reproductive issues, and cancer, with possible lethal effects," the Senators wrote.

"Without adequate methane mitigation measures in place," the Senators note, "combusting gas to generate electricity can have an equivalent carbon intensity to combusting coal." The Senators warned that "if all the gas projects currently under development in the United States…are completed, they will add a combined 12.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions in their lifetimes, double the annual emissions from all other sources in the U.S. today."

Limiting climate upheaval and economic harm "requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050, which in turn means that advanced economies' energy sectors must achieve overall net-zero emissions by 2035," continued the Senators.

Gas turbines are not the only option for data center developers looking to meet booming demand. Some hyperscale projects have invested in renewables, including solar, wind, and zero-carbon nuclear energy. Others employ battery storage. Gas projects can employ carbon capture to limit their footprints.

The Senators' investigation also extends to Pacifico Energy, which is planning a 7.65GW gas plant, GW Ranch, that could become one of the largest emissions sources in the world. The project's air pollution permit, the largest in the United States, included authorization for 12,000 tons of health-harming pollutants and over 30 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

The Senators are requesting answers from the companies about their decisions to rely entirely or primarily on gas for their massive projects; whether they are capturing any carbon dioxide; whether they will source low-methane intensity gas; and the expected rate of return on their projects. Responses are sought from the following companies by March 27, 2026: Meta, OpenAI, xAI, Fermi America, American Intelligence & Power Corporation, Joule, Crusoe, and Fundamental Data.