Alarming report reveals how surging industry is putting residents in harm's way: 'Astonishing'

In an alarming turn of events for millions of Texans, an explosion of commercial interest in AI has produced a corresponding surge in development proposals for polluting, gas-fired power plants. To capitalize on this interest, the state is approving these projects without sufficient review, deliberately sidestepping environmental regulations and putting residents in harm's way, Inside Climate News reported.

What's happening?

Roughly 130 new or expanded power plants have been proposed, according to a report from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project. These facilities would primarily be used to support data centers for artificial intelligence. 

If all of them are approved, the projects could generate the same amount of energy that would power 8 million American households — but they would also contribute equally large amounts of harmful pollution. 

Fortunately, many of the proposals likely won't move forward, Inside Climate News explained. Of the 108 new proposed plants and 17 expansions, only about one-third have received their permits so far. 

However, authorities are predicting that statewide power demand will nearly double in the next five years, mostly due to increased demand for massive computing facilities — and there's no indication that the proposals will slow down. 

"The sheer volume of additional gas projects quickly popping up in Texas that EIP have been flagging through air permit applications is indeed astonishing," Jenny Martos, manager at the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor, said, per Inside Climate News.

Why are gas-fired plants so harmful?

Less enthusiastic than the commercial interests are the residents who would actually live near these gas-powered facilities. For example, according to Inside Climate News, a group of residents in the rural town of Blue are currently fighting the development of an enormous power plant in their area. They list the heavy air, noise, and light pollution as key reasons to oppose the project.

"If you're going to build a bunch of gas plants, don't plop them down in the middle of nice, quiet, peaceful communities like ours," Travis Brown, spokesperson for a group called Move the Gas Plant, said, per Inside Climate News. "Preserving what's left of rural Texas should be a priority. That's an important part of our culture and our heritage."

Of course, no matter where they're built, these power plants are going to contribute massive amounts of planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere. Just the current slate of projects alone would add an estimated 115 million metric tons of toxic gasses every year — the equivalent of 27 million additional gasoline-powered cars on the road.

"Building more natural gas infrastructure and power plants would saddle Texas' growing population with more health-harming pollution and contribute to planet-warming greenhouse gases," the EIP report stated.

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What can be done to slow down development?

Public health and environmental advocates have also flagged another concerning fact: Texas legislators have allowed several major projects to skip over significant aspects of the pollution permitting process.

For example, according to the Inside Climate News report, many companies seeking to build enormous facilities instead applied for "standard" permits, which only apply to small facilities. Despite the obvious fact that their projects would vastly exceed these limitations, the state's environmental regulator has continued to greenlight the permits.

EIP's senior attorney, Patton Dycus, wrote a letter to the EPA urging it to review the practices.

"If new gas-fired plants that are major sources of criteria pollutants are constructed without the required Clean Air Act construction permits, that construction would be unlawful," the letter said, per Inside Climate News. "TCEQ must not permit future similar gas-fired power plants through standard permitting."

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