AI data center developers build gas power plants to independently supply power and circumvent public grid restrictions.
AI's rapid expansion has created acute power challenges, and the industry's solution is to stop waiting for the grid entirely. Data center developers are increasingly building their own natural gas power plants on-site, a strategy called "behind-the-meter" power generation that allows them to bypass years-long utility connection application queues.
At least 46 data centers are adopting this approach, with combined capacity targets of 56 GW. To put this scale in perspective, 56 GW is approximately enough to power 42 million households.
The largest enterprises in AI are spearheading this trend. Elon Musk's xAI operates on-site gas turbines at its Colossus data center facility. OpenAI's Stargate project in West Texas targets capacity exceeding 1 GW, backed by natural gas support. Meta has signed multiple agreements with pipeline company Williams, which has actively pivoted toward direct power supply.
Texas is the center of this construction boom. The state accounts for approximately 80.6 GW of the US's currently under-construction gas power generation capacity. Of this, roughly 40 GW is dedicated to data centers. Nearly half of Texas's new power plants will serve data centers exclusively.
However, this trend is not limited to Texas. In Ohio, the Apollo data center facility received expedited approval within three months, a pace that caught local residents by surprise. In April 2026, cryptocurrency mining company MARA Holdings announced a $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy in Ohio, which includes a 505 MW gas power plant and over 1,600 acres of land for AI and data center expansion.
The US power grid was not designed for a world in which individual data centers might consume power equivalent to small cities. Grid interconnection queues have now extended for years, with developers in some regions facing wait times of five years or more.
US under-construction gas power generation capacity nearly tripled in 2025, reaching approximately 252 GW. More than one-third of this capacity is now associated with data centers.
Ohio's Apollo facility has emerged as a focal point of controversy. Its approval received rapid approval within three months, a pace that reportedly left minimal room for public participation or environmental review.
Environmental organizations have raised a deeper concern: while energy transition should be accelerating, the industry is locking in decades of fossil fuel infrastructure. Each new gas power plant represents a 20 to 30-year commitment to natural gas combustion.
For energy investors, the recent signals are unambiguous. Companies engaged in gas power generation, turbine manufacturing, and pipeline infrastructure are seeing demand that seemed impossible five years ago. GE Vernova, which manufactures the gas turbines powering many of these facilities, is enjoying a surge in orders driven by this dynamic.
The MARA Holdings deal reveals how cryptocurrency and AI infrastructure are converging. Spending $1.5 billion to acquire a gas power plant and over 1,600 acres of expansion land is not a hedging move. It is a bet that compute-intensive industries will continue to require dedicated on-site power for years to come.