Data centers could erase decades of air quality gains
A new report suggests that the rapid expansion of data centers in Texas to support generative AI could significantly increase air pollution. Depending on the energy sources used, emissions of soot, smog-forming NOx, and carbon dioxide could return to levels not seen in two decades.
Why it matters
It highlights the environmental trade-offs of the AI boom, showing how the physical infrastructure required for digital innovation can directly undermine climate and air quality goals.
A rush of new data centers could bring air pollution roaring back to levels not seen since the 2000s in Texas, which has become ground zero for the physical infrastructure behind generative AI.
New and proposed data centers are demanding a tremendous amount of electricity. How developers and utilities meet that demand — with gas turbines or renewable energy — will determine just how dirty things will get. So far, though, things are looking grim.
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