The “all-of-the-above” approach toward generation development in the U.S. is great for power-hungry data centers, but probably not-so-great for the air we breathe.
Anyone in the clean energy sector could likely have guessed that, but new analysis from BloombergNEF provides some additional data to back it up. According to Bloomberg, power developers are planning 99 new bespoke natural gas plants to power data centers. That’s a huge jump for an industry that only a few years ago was largely focused on replacing capacity from coal plant retirements and providing flexible power to balance renewable generation.
These 99 proposed plants could emit up to 318 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, which would mean a 20% increase in U.S. power sector emissions compared to last year’s 1,485 million metric tons overall, per EIA data. This assumes that all 99 of the plants get built, but the potential of such a large increase in emissions underscores how data centers’ appetite for power has revived the gas industry.
Coal is experiencing its own comeback: the DOE issued an emergency order directing the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), in coordination with Consumers Energy, to ensure that the 1,420-MW J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant (Campbell Plant) in West Olive, Michigan is available to operate. The plant was originally scheduled to shut down on May 31, 2025, 15 years before the end of its scheduled design life.
And don’t forget heavy fuel oil (HFO): this week, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order permitting PJM Interconnection to continue running the HFO-fired Unit 4 at the Wagner Generating Station in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. PJM had previously requested the order to continue operating the unit beyond its current operating limit to meet high demand in the region.
The grid is getting stretched thin, and emissions goals are getting tossed aside as the reality continues to set in.
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The largest clean energy investment in North American history?
Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced C$10 billion (~$7.26 billion USD) in federal financing to upgrade and expand the hydroelectric Churchill Falls Generating Station; develop the Gull Island hydroelectricity project; unlock co-investment opportunities with the Innu of Labrador in a major new Labrador onshore wind project; and to build transmission lines.
The Canadian government touts these collective projects as the largest clean energy investment in North American history, at nearly C$70 billion ($50.4 billion USD). Together, these projects could deliver 14,000 MW of clean power, which nearly triples the current generating capacity of Churchill Falls.
Bring your own capacity… for data centers?
Households in the PJM and MISO territories are getting an opportunity to get paid for a demand response program supplying power to data centers during periods of high grid stress.
Sunrun, a provider of residential battery storage, solar, and home-to-grid power plants, announced an agreement with Voltus, a distributed energy resource platform, to support Voltus’s “Bring Your Own Capacity” (BYOC) programs for AI hyperscalers.
Under the agreement, Sunrun will provide energy capacity from a portion of its thousands of residential storage-plus-solar systems in PJM and MISO grid regions.
Last year, Voltus announced its BYOC program, which allows large loads like hyperscalers to provide firm, flexible capacity to facilitate data center interconnection and support the grid. As part of that program, Voltus will orchestrate flexible distributed resources — such as batteries and smart thermostats — to reduce energy demand when the grid needs it.
“Meeting growing energy demand requires us to maximize every single electron available across the country,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “In collaboration with Voltus, we are providing critical capacity from home batteries supported by funding from hyperscalers. This is just the beginning of what distributed energy assets can achieve.”
The Sunrun-Voltus collaboration builds on the recent and separate initiative by Sunrun, Renew Home and Tesla focused on unlocking more than 16.8 gigawatts of flexible capacity from home batteries, solar, smart thermostats, and EVs.
Dimension Energy grows its distributed solar platform
Dimension Energy, a developer, owner, and operator of distributed energy infrastructure, announced that it has secured $857 million of additional capital to accelerate the growth of its distributed solar platform. This follows Dimension’s closing of a $650 million portfolio financing earlier this year.
The $657 million financing will provide construction debt and tax equity financing for a portfolio of 29 distributed solar projects across Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, totaling 149 MW.
The new capital comprises a $200 million upsize of the company’s corporate credit facility, with lead lenders being Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit and funds and accounts managed by HPS Investment Partners, together with a $657 million construction-to-term debt and tax equity financing package.
Dimension currently owns over 600 MW of distributed energy assets operating and under construction. The company argues these financings will support its growth to 1 GW of operating assets by 2028.
LG Energy Solution spins up a new domestic battery plant
Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution has started production at its brand-new battery plant in Lansing, Michigan. The plant will build battery cells both for energy storage systems and electric vehicles.
The facility produces lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells for energy storage systems (ESS). The cells are integrated by LG Energy Solution Vertech, the company’s U.S. energy storage division, into complete systems for utility, grid-scale storage, and other commercial and industrial applications.
Additionally, the plant will produce nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells for Toyota’s battery powered vehicles, like the 2027 Toyota Highlander EV.
At full production scale, LG Energy Solution hopes to reach more than 35GWh of annual battery-making capacity. Since 2022, LG Energy Solution has invested more than $2 billion in the Lansing facility, which currently employs about 900 employees. At full capacity, employment is anticipated to grow to 1,700.
Facts Only
* BloombergNEF analysis identifies 99 proposed bespoke natural gas plants intended to power data centers.
* These 99 plants could emit 318 million metric tons of CO2 annually, a potential 20% increase over last year's U.S. power sector emissions of 1,485 million metric tons.
* The DOE issued an emergency order for the 1,420-MW J.H. Campbell coal-fired plant in West Olive, Michigan, to remain available beyond its May 31, 2025, shutdown date.
* The DOE issued an emergency order for PJM Interconnection to continue operating the HFO-fired Unit 4 at the Wagner Generating Station in Maryland.
* Canada announced C$10 billion in federal financing for the Churchill Falls upgrade, Gull Island project, a Labrador onshore wind project, and transmission lines.
* Total Canadian clean energy investment for these projects is valued at nearly C$70 billion.
* Sunrun and Voltus agreed to provide energy capacity from residential storage-plus-solar systems in PJM and MISO regions for AI hyperscalers.
* Dimension Energy secured $857 million in capital for 29 distributed solar projects totaling 149 MW across Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
* LG Energy Solution began production of LFP and NMC battery cells at a plant in Lansing, Michigan.
* LG Energy Solution has invested over $2 billion in the Lansing facility, with a target annual capacity of 35GWh.
Executive Summary
The U.S. energy landscape is currently defined by a tension between long-term decarbonization goals and the immediate, massive power demands of AI data centers. This demand is driving a resurgence in fossil fuel reliance, evidenced by the proposal of nearly 100 new natural gas plants and emergency DOE orders to keep coal and heavy fuel oil units online to prevent grid instability. These developments suggest that emissions targets may be secondary to maintaining grid reliability during a period of rapid industrial scaling.
Simultaneously, there is a significant push toward distributed energy and large-scale clean infrastructure. In Canada, a massive C$70 billion investment in hydro and wind aims to vastly increase clean power capacity. In the U.S., new business models are emerging that allow residential solar and battery owners to sell capacity back to the grid to support "hyperscalers." Coupled with expanded domestic battery manufacturing by firms like LG Energy Solution and increased capital for distributed solar, the sector is attempting to scale clean alternatives as quickly as the demand grows.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative is that the "AI gold rush" is creating a physical energy crisis that overrides existing climate policy, forcing a pragmatic—if environmentally costly—return to fossil fuels to avoid systemic grid failure. It presents a world where the digital frontier's appetite for power is outstripping the deployment speed of the energy transition.
The root cause is a collision between the exponential growth of compute-intensive technology and the linear growth of infrastructure. We are seeing a "reliability first" paradigm shift where the risk of blackouts is viewed as a more immediate threat than the risk of increased carbon emissions. This echoes historical industrial booms where environmental externalities were ignored to facilitate rapid economic expansion.
The implications are a redistribution of cost: the benefits of AI productivity accrue to hyperscalers and tech firms, while the environmental costs (emissions) and the systemic risks (grid strain) are socialized. However, the emergence of "Bring Your Own Capacity" models suggests a move toward the "democratization" of grid stability, where homeowners become micro-utilities. Whether this empowers the individual or simply allows corporations to outsource their infrastructure costs to residential basements remains to be seen.
Patterns detected: none
Bridge Questions:
1. Does the ability to mobilize residential batteries actually mitigate the need for new gas plants, or is it a marginal supplement to a systemic deficit?
2. If emergency orders for coal and oil are becoming standard, does "clean energy transition" remain a viable policy goal or a secondary aspiration?
3. Who determines the "emergency" threshold that justifies bypassing emissions targets?
Counterstrike Scan: An influence campaign pushing this narrative would aim to normalize fossil fuel expansion by framing it as an inevitable byproduct of "technological progress" (AI), thereby neutralizing climate opposition. The actual content does not match this; it explicitly highlights the contradiction between emissions goals and current actions.