US Builds 2 Times China’s Gas Power for AI Datacenters as Pipeline Swells to 378 GW
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 25
US Builds 2 Times China’s Gas Power for AI Datacenters as Pipeline Swells to 378 GW
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 25
Summary
Global Energy Monitor said the US is now building twice as much gas-fired power capacity as China after under-construction projects jumped 76% in the first half of 2026.
378 GW of US gas capacity is now in development, up 50% from 252 GW since January, with roughly half tied directly to planned AI datacenters.
If completed, those projects would expand the US gas fleet by about two-thirds at a cost above $647 billion and could lift US power-sector emissions by as much as 20%.
Tech demand is also straining turbine supply, pushing some developers including xAI toward smaller, less efficient units, while local resistance has grown over power bills, water use and tax breaks.
The shift undercuts claims that China alone is driving fossil-fuel growth, as the IEA forecasts US spending on coal- and gas-fired plants will exceed China’s for the first time in decades.