AI article
Data center demand drives 66% surge in natural gas power plant costs
Publisher description: Natural gas power plant costs have nearly doubled in two years and take 23% longer to build as data center electricity demand skyrockets.
TechCrunch | Apr 27, 2026 | Tim De Chant
Automated excerpt
Tech companies, including Microsoft and Meta, have been falling in love with natural gas lately, rushing to build power plants fed by the fossil fuel to drive their data centers. The scramble for natural gas power plants has caused a shortage of gas turbines. Unlike gas turbines, solar panels and batteries have gotten cheaper over time, offering an alternative to sky-high costs for natural gas power plants.
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