A spike in demand for electricity from tech companies competing in the artificial intelligence race is upending forecasts for natural gas-fired power in the U.S., as utilities reconsider it as a power source, reports The Associated Press.
Across the nation, tech companies are snapping up real estate and seeking new power projects to feed their energy-hungry operations.
In some cases, Big Tech is building climate-friendlier projects like solar, wind, geothermal or battery storage.
But industry decision-makers are also turning to natural gas for what they say is a cheap and reliable source of power, raising the prospect that gas-fired power will play a bigger role—and for a longer period of time—than even they had anticipated.
“Gas is growing faster now and in the medium term than ever before,” says Corianna Mah, a power and renewables analyst at data analytics firm Enverus.
