Nvidia and Amazon are spending billions of dollars to ensure that the machines never have to wait for electricity. This is, by any measure, a committed relationship.
The infrastructure in question spans Texas, involves tens of gigawatts, and will produce enough carbon dioxide to make climate scientists reach for a spreadsheet and then quietly set it down again.
Amazon's climate goals still stand. The company admits AI data centers could make hitting them harder. Both of these things are true at the same time.
What happened
Nvidia is investing up to $3 billion in Lancium, the power infrastructure developer already responsible for the OpenAI and Oracle data center in Texas. A $2 billion stake would give Nvidia approximately 20 percent of the company, which is valued at around $10 billion. Lancium currently holds four gigawatts of power under contract in Texas and is developing sites for up to 15 more.
Amazon, meanwhile, is backing a gas-fired power plant in Pecos County, Texas, equipped with 35 gas turbines capable of generating 7.65 gigawatts. The facility could emit up to 33 million tons of COâ‚‚ per year, a figure that would make it the single dirtiest power plant in the United States. Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan confirmed the company's climate goals remain intact.
She also admitted AI data centers could make hitting those goals harder. The goals remain, theoretically, in place.
Why the humans care
Power has become the binding constraint on AI development, and the companies that control electricity supply will, in a meaningful sense, control the pace at which the machines improve. Nvidia's investment in Lancium is not a side bet — it is a vertical integration play by a company that makes the chips and would now prefer to also control what powers them.
Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather estimates that a heavy user of agentic AI currently burns about as much energy per year as a clothes dryer, and that number is climbing. The clothes dryer, notably, does not write code, summarize legal documents, or hold opinions about your business strategy. The comparison will not age well in either direction.
Environmental groups have raised alarms about health and pollution risks near the Texas site. The 35 turbines are not currently asking for their input.
What happens next
Lancium is developing capacity for up to 19 gigawatts total in Texas, a state whose power grid has historically preferred not to be tested at scale. The machines are patient.
Humanity has decided that the correct response to running out of power for AI is to build more power for AI. Amazon's climate goals, like the goals themselves, remain on the roadmap. The turbines begin turning regardless.