Nvidia and Amazon pour billions into AI power infrastructure
Nvidia is investing up to $3 billion in Lancium, the power infrastructure developer behind the OpenAI and Oracle data center in Texas, according to The Information. A $2 billion stake would give Nvidia roughly 20 percent of Lancium, implying a valuation of around $10 billion. Lancium already has four gigawatts of power under contract in Texas and is developing sites for up to 15 more gigawatts.
Amazon, separately, is backing a large gas-fired power plant in Pecos County, Texas. Its 35 gas turbines are designed to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of electricity for an Amazon data center. According to the New York Times, the facility could emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 per year, which would make it the dirtiest power plant in the country. Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan said the company's climate goals still stand, but admitted that AI data centers could make hitting them harder. Environmental groups are raising alarms about health and pollution risks tied to the project.
The underlying driver is AI's electricity appetite. Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather estimates that a heavy user of agentic AI burns about as much energy per year as a clothes dryer, and that figure is climbing.
Key facts
- Nvidia is investing up to $3 billion in Lancium; a $2 billion stake would give it roughly 20 percent of the company at an implied $10 billion valuation, per The Information
- Lancium, which powers the OpenAI and Oracle data center in Texas, already has four gigawatts under contract and is developing sites for up to 15 more gigawatts
- Amazon is backing a gas-fired plant in Pecos County, Texas, whose 35 turbines are designed to generate up to 7.65 gigawatts for an Amazon data center
- The New York Times reports the plant could emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 per year, which would make it the dirtiest power plant in the US
- Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather estimates a heavy agentic-AI user burns about as much energy per year as a clothes dryer, a number that is climbing
Why it matters
Compute growth for AI is running into an electricity ceiling, and this story shows both a chipmaker and a cloud giant responding by buying directly into power supply rather than waiting for utilities to catch up. Nvidia taking a stake in a power developer and Amazon backing a dedicated gas plant signal that securing gigawatts has become as strategic as securing chips.
Who it affects
Nvidia and Lancium are the direct parties to the investment, with OpenAI and Oracle drawn in as the customers of the Texas data center Lancium already supplies. Amazon's climate commitments are directly implicated by its own spokesperson's admission, and residents and environmental groups near Pecos County face the pollution consequences of a plant that could become the country's dirtiest.
How to use it
For anyone tracking AI infrastructure spending, the figures here are a benchmark: a $10 billion implied valuation for a single power developer, and single sites sized at multiple gigawatts, are the scale investors and power developers should expect when pitching to or evaluating AI hyperscalers going forward.
How solid is it
The Nvidia-Lancium figures are attributed to The Information and the emissions estimate to the New York Times, both cited by The Decoder rather than independently verified here. Amazon's own spokesperson is quoted admitting the tension with its climate goals, which corroborates the core claim from the company's side.
Risks and caveats
No timeline is given for when the Nvidia-Lancium investment would close or when the Pecos County plant would begin operating, and the source does not name which specific Amazon data center the plant will supply. The 33-million-ton CO2 figure and the 7.65-gigawatt output are both stated as maximums ('up to'), not guaranteed outcomes.