At this point, plenty of people know that using generative AI tools results in consuming tons of water. But in case that wasn’t enough of an environmental impact for you, Chevron is ready to pile on the negative side effects. According to a report from The New York Times, the second-largest fossil fuel company in the country is teaming up with an investment firm to build natural gas power plants designed specifically to power data centers—just in time for the entire market to rethink whether we actually need to burn all these resources on AI models.
Per the Times, Chevron is already ordering equipment and pursuing potential locations for these power plants, which the company believes it can get up and operational in just three years. The plan, according to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, is to “meet the moment and address this growing need for reliable and affordable power.”
The plan is also to cash in while the money is freely flowing. Research from Goldman Sachs suggests that data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030, and companies that are able to get support up quickly will get to soak up a larger share of the estimated $500 billion that will be spent on expanding data center infrastructure. You can tell it’s an opportunistic move by Chevron, as the company had been shifting away from operating power plants in favor of the much more lucrative business of drilling for and selling oil and gas. But all of a sudden, being the power source for companies that have free-flowing cash from venture capitalists seems like a good business to be in.
Chevron probably could have picked a better week to make the announcement, though. While America’s biggest players in the AI space have basically been pushing the idea that AI will only get better if we push more power, burn more energy, and eat up more processing capacity, the China-based DeepSeek just released its own AI model that challenges Big Tech offerings at a fraction of the cost. So maybe we don’t have to just wantonly burn fossil fuels to meet the demands generated by AI slop factories.
Interestingly, Chevron’s turn toward being an AI power facilitator appears to be in part the work of Engine No. 1, an activist investment firm that claims to be focused on social good. Engine No. 1 previously launched a successful bid to push Exxon Mobil toward a business model that would shrink its carbon footprint and prioritize clean energy strategies for the future. But hey, there’s money to be made right now. Turns out “social good” gets thrown to the wayside when you can take part in the gold rush. We’ll all split the bill for the fallout later.
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