We’ve all heard how power-hungry AI is, and it’s becoming a real headache for tech giants trying to stay "green." Now, Amazon is leaning into that struggle by investing in its own natural gas power plant in Pecos County, Texas. The plant has been permitted to emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 annually, which would make it the highest-emitting plant in the U.S.

Amazon says they're doing this to avoid hiking electricity costs for Texas residents. But here's the catch: AI already drove Amazon's carbon emissions up by 16% last year, putting them at odds with their own promise to hit net-zero by 2040. While Amazon claims the global situation has changed since they made that pledge, they're still pushing forward with this gas plant to keep the servers humming. It just goes to show how hard it is to scale AI without leaving a huge footprint.