Data centers are driving demand for gas from Northwest utilities, reports find
Reports reveal that electric utilities in Washington and Oregon are increasingly relying on gas-powered energy to meet the soaring demand from data centers, jeopardizing the states' greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Utilities are circumventing climate rules, investing in new gas infrastructure, and purchasing gas-powered electricity, with a significant approval for a new gas plant for a Vantage data center in Grant County, Washington. This trend raises concerns about energy reliability and the long-term environmental impact of data center growth in the Pacific Northwest.
Electric utilities across Washington and Oregon are increasingly turning to natural gas to satisfy the rapidly growing energy demands of data centers, according to analyses from Columbia Riverkeeper and Sightline Institute. This shift threatens the states' ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, designed to combat global warming, by increasing reliance on fossil fuels.
The reports highlight that utility companies, including public utility districts and private entities like PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric, are investing in new gas-powered energy infrastructure or procuring gas-generated electricity from other states. Some data center operators, such as Amazon, are also installing their own on-site gas generators. Utilities are often seeking exemptions from state climate rules that restrict new gas infrastructure, citing the need for regional energy reliability amid surging data center demand. Amazon, while stating its commitment to renewable energy, was recently fined by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for exceeding air quality permit limits for an emergency diesel generator at its Hermiston, Oregon data center.
A significant development occurred in Grant County, Washington, where Public Utility District commissioners approved plans for VoltaGrid to construct a 12-megawatt methane gas power plant to supply a hyperscale data center campus operated by Vantage. This plant, which will utilize mobile gas engines and require daily gas trucking from Moses Lake to Quincy, was approved due to perceived transmission capacity limitations. Officials in Oregon had previously reported that the state would miss its 2035 emission goals by two years due to the rise in data center energy demand. Researchers suggest that requiring data centers to power down during peak demand, similar to policies in Texas, could mitigate the need for new fossil fuel infrastructure.