Data Centers Fueling a Surge in US Natural Gas Production

The rise of data centers has significantly increased the demand for gas-fired power in the US over the last two years, a new study released Wednesday reveals. The research indicates that more than a third of this surge in demand is directly associated with gas projects intended to supply energy to data centers—enough power to run tens of millions of homes across the country.

According to findings from Global Energy Monitor, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that monitors developments in the oil and gas sectors, this trend coincides with the Trump administration’s push to facilitate data center expansion while relaxing pollution controls for power plants and extraction operations. This is likely to lead to a rise in US greenhouse gas emissions, even if some of the monitored projects are never realized.

“The implications are immense when considering the scale of this expansion,” comments Jonathan Banks, a senior climate adviser at the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit focused on emissions reduction. (It’s worth noting that Clean Air Task Force did not participate in the Global Energy Monitor research.)

The construction of all gas-fired power infrastructure planned by the end of last year could potentially boost the US gas fleet by nearly 50 percent, as indicated by Global Energy Monitor. Presently, there are about 565 gigawatts of gas-fired power available on the US grid. If all ongoing projects move forward, they would contribute nearly 252 gigawatts more to the fleet. (While estimates vary, 1 gigawatt can supply power to up to a million homes, contingent on regional energy consumption.)

In the past two years, data centers have nearly tripled the demand for gas-fired power in the US. When Global Energy Monitor released its previous tracker in early 2024, it recorded about 85 gigawatts of gas-fired power in the development phase within the US, with over 4 gigawatts specifically allocated for data centers. However, by 2025, the demand from projects designated for data centers surpassed 97 gigawatts—nearly 25 times the 2024 statistics.

“Around a year and a half ago, we noticed a significant rise in data center project proposals,” remarks Jenny Martos, a research analyst at Global Energy Monitor who contributed to the report.

To compile this study, Global Energy Monitor examined publicly available data regarding gas power developments in progress, which includes state regulatory filings, air quality permits, and corporate announcements. (Martos notes that the organization verified its findings against industry-held data as a reference.)

As the expansion of data centers progresses nationwide, developers are eager to secure power from every available source, leading utilities to rush to meet the anticipated demand. Consequently, some dirtier power sources have received a renewed opportunity to remain operational: coal-fired plants are being granted extensions on their retirement dates, supported by pro-coal policies from the Trump administration.

While natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal power, its plants still emit CO₂. In 2022, approximately 35 percent of the US’s energy-related CO₂ emissions stemmed from natural gas combustion.

“Gas is cleaner upon combustion than coal, but the volume of gas involved contributes significantly to CO₂ emissions,” states Banks.

A greater concern regarding natural gas is the methane leaks that occur during extraction. Although methane persists in the atmosphere for a shorter duration than CO₂, it is 80 times more potent over a 20-year period. Climate scientists emphasize that reducing methane emissions in the short term is essential for effectively addressing climate change in the long run. It is estimated that one-third of all global methane leaks are attributed to oil and gas production, with the US being the largest natural gas producer worldwide.