A new analysis by Global Energy Monitor finds that the US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, a reversal of decades-long trend where China led in new gas power generation. The US has seen a 76% increase in under-construction gas projects in the first half of this year, with total gas power capacity increasing from 252GW to 378GW, a third of the global total. Around $647bn is being invested in these new projects, which are largely driven by the growth of artificial intelligence and associated datacenters that require huge amounts of electricity. The report warns that using fossil fuels for AI development could increase US power emissions by up to 20% if all proposed projects come online.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
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Story summary
The US has surpassed China in building new gas-fired power generation, largely due to a boom in artificial intelligence (AI). For decades, China had been outpacing the US in this area, but a recent surge in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this trend. The US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, and more than any other country, with a 76% increase in under-construction projects in the first half of the year. This has led to a 50% increase in overall gas power capacity in the US, from 252GW to 378GW, which is nearly a third of the global total. If all these projects are completed, the US will see its gas fleet grow by around two-thirds at a cost of over $647 billion. This rapid expansion is driven by companies like Google, which is building numerous datacenters for AI processing.
Written for “Energy Sector Boom” on 2026-08-31,
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The US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found.
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analysis → surge → emissions
For decades, China’s rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent “frenzy” in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report.
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Monitor → see → report
The US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, and more than any other country in the world, after a stunning 76% increase in under-construction projects in the first half of this year.
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US → build → year
When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse.
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US → add → powerhouse
Since January, gas power capacity in overall development in the US has ballooned by 50%, rising from 252GW to 378GW – a third of the global total.
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capacity → balloon → total
If all of these projects are ultimately built, the US will increase its gas fleet by around two-thirds at a capital cost of more than $647bn, Gem found.
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Gem → build → 647bn
Around half of the new capacity is directly tied to a rash of upcoming datacenters that require a huge amount of electricity to handle the increased demand from AI.
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that → tie → AI
Using gas, a fossil fuel that is dangerously overheating our planet, rather than renewables to power this glut of new datacenters threatens to increase US power emissions by as much as 20%, according to one estimate.
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that → use → estimate
“Six months ago, China had more gas plants under construction but that has now flipped,” said Jenny Martos, a project manager at Global Energy Monitor.
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Martos → have → Monitor
“There has been an enormous surge in datacenter proposals powered by gas in the past year and the climate implications of that is huge.
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implications → power → that
Building all of this gas for AI locks in decades of pollution and it is also locking in dependence on a volatile fuel cost, which will get passed down to rate payers.”
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which → build → payers
Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly claimed that China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, is expanding its fossil fuel use so much that any emissions cuts by the US would be futile.
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cuts → claim → US
The president has said of China that “their air is dirty, and it drifts over to us”.
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it → say → us
But the rush of new infrastructure for AI, along with the Trump administration’s demolition of environmental regulations and China’s rapid adoption of clean energy, is changing this equation.
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rush → change → equation
US spending on power plants fueled by coal and gas will outstrip that of China for the first time in decades, the International Energy Agency has forecast.
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Agency → fuel → decades
The stampede by tech companies, such as Google, Open AI and Amazon, to build datacenters has contributed to a backlog of the most efficient gas turbines used for accompanying power plants.
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stampede → build → plants
This has led several companies, including Elon Musk’s xAI, to quickly switch to smaller, less efficient turbines which are more heavily polluting.
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which → lead → turbines
Concerns over the climate crisis, rising power bills, tax breaks for AI companies and water shortages – two-thirds of more than 800 planned datacenters are located in drought-stricken areas – has fueled mounting local opposition to data center construction.
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thirds → rise → construction
A recent poll by Heatmap found that three-quarters of Americans do not want to live next to a datacenter, a huge increase in opposition in the past year.
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quarters → find → year
Dozens of cities and counties have placed restrictions on new datacenters, with New York in July becoming the first state to enact a temporary ban on new hyper-scale datacenter permitting and construction.
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York → place → permitting
Despite this backlash, which could well hurt Republicans in the November midterm elections, the Trump administration has championed the building of new datacenters and eliminated environmental reviews in order to speed them up.
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administration → hurt → them
Trump said this month that “data centers could be bigger than oil” and state governors should cut taxes to encourage them.
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governors → say → them
“Frankly, communities that don’t take a datacenter, they’re making a mistake because there’s plenty of communities that want them,” Trump said in separate remarks to his former lawyer Michael Cohen last week.
“Because it means jobs, and it means tremendous tax revenue coming into the towns and cities that take them.”
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that → take → them
