Chevron Corporation, a leading oil and gas multinational company, is partnering with Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova to form a new company to build artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data centers operating on natural gas. 

This joint venture, if successful, promises to produce four gigawatts (GW) of power, enough power for about 3-3.5 million homes. The announcement explained,

The first projects, which the companies refer to as ‘power foundries’, are expected to leverage seven U.S. made GE Vernova 7HA natural gas turbines, secured under a slot reservation agreement, on an accelerated timeline. The projects are expected to serve co-located data centers in the U.S. Southeast, Midwest and West regions. Power generation is not designed to flow initially through the existing transmission grid, reducing the risk of increasing electricity prices for consumers.

Chevron credits the Trump administration’s Day One executive actions on unleashing American energy and enhancing U.S. leadership on AI, citing “the need for affordable, reliable energy to meet the significant demand for electricity to power U.S. data centers.” 

This energy abundance phrasing signals a major departure from past net-zero rhetoric used by major corporations, including Chevron. In fall 2021, Chevron announced it was adopting a 2050 net-zero (decarbonization) guideline for tracking scope 1 (emissions directly attributed to a company) and scope 2 (emissions indirectly attributed to a company) emissions. Exxon Mobil, a direct competitor of Chevron, similarly walked back commitments to renewable energy projects last year due to the “market’s renewed acceptance of fossil fuels” and plans to construct new natural gas plants, as well.

Per the most available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) natural gas, nuclear energy, and coal account for 78% of current U.S. electricity generation. Nuclear operates about 93% of the year, while natural gas and coal facilities can be powered at maximum capacity for 56.6% and 40.2% of the year, respectively.

Solar and wind, by comparison, only function for 25% and 35% of the time, due to their intermittency, respectively. Even renewable energy proponents concede these sources can’t sufficiently be dispatched to supply reliable, uninterrupted power and note energy storage units are equally expensive.

With rising global electricity demand, especially from AI data centers, tech companies have similarly abandoned or softened their net-zero climate commitments and pledged investments in natural gas and nuclear energy projects. Additionally, major U.S. financial institutions have withdrawn from global climate groups in the wake of energy policy shifts from the Trump-Vance administration. 

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