Microsoft and Chevron Plan One of the Largest Gas-Powered Data Center Projects in the US

Microsoft and Chevron announced on Monday plans to develop a 2.67-gigawatt natural gas power plant in West Texas to serve the tech company’s AI and cloud data centers. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement, the plant will provide dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center.

Two large GE Vernova turbines will generate most of the power, with a Caterpillar subsidiary, Solar Turbines, providing the remainder. (The Solar Turbines name may sound familiar – xAI uses them in its unpermitted power plant near Memphis.)

Microsoft will buy power from the plant for 20 years. Chevron said the project will be “among the largest co-located natural gas power and data center developments in the U.S.” Although Microsoft has been signaling this move for months, it represents a significant shift for a company that has been vocal about its sustainability efforts. Microsoft has pledged to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2030 – a goal that becomes harder to reach with this new power plant.

Known as Project Kilby, the plant could release more than 13 million tons of carbon dioxide, 3,200 tons of criteria air pollutants, and 278,000 pounds of hazardous air pollutants, according to the Environmental Integrity Project.