Director – Site Operations

Data centers drive surging off-grid gas power demand. 11:44 AM on friday, july 31. Alton wallace. (The Center Square) - Strained electrical grids and long wait times to hook up to public utilities will push about 40% of all new data center capacity additions entirely off the main grid through 2030, according to energy research firm Enverus. The report by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) projects hyperscalers will spend about $5 trillion through 2030 to add 62 gigawatts of off-grid, natural gas-fired power serving data centers clustered primarily in parts of Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Faced with long waits to connect to the public grid, major tech hyperscalers like Amazon and Google are pushing back their short-term net-zero carbon pledges. To meet their immense, short-term power needs, these and other tech giants are building off-grid, privately controlled, "behind the meter" natural gas generation facilities. "Everybody wants to come on the grid, but that has been pretty saturated to this point," Thomas Mulvihill, a research associate at Enverus, explained in an interview with The Center Square. "Now we're seeing a huge shift towards this behind-the-meter story. Tech companies aren't concerned with how quickly it takes them to build the data center shell; they are entirely constrained by time-to-power." According to Enverus data, more than 80% of the off-grid, natural gas-powered data center growth will occur in Texas, the PJM market region, which covers Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the Western United States. The Austin-based energy analytics firm estimates this domestic off-grid natural gas demand will amount to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day in 2030. Texas-based energy analyst David Blackmon ties the demand for gas-fired power generation to tech-sector economics, noting that the migration to gas-fired generation is driven by necessity rather than climate strategy. "This isn't a green revolution; it's a gas-fueled sprint for speed and revenue," Blackmon wrote in an analysis of data center infrastructure. "With AI data centers raking in millions per megawatt annually, developers are prioritizing quick deployment over efficiency or eco-hype." The scale of the grid bottleneck is most acute in Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is currently tracking more than 438 GW of large-load interconnection requests, with nearly 90% coming from data centers. For perspective, ERCOT's all-time historical peak demand record is just 85.5 GW. Because burning massive volumes of natural gas threatens corporate climate goals, the hyperscalers' decarbonization strategies are increasingly driven by regional geology. A 2024 Enverus study on underground carbon storage potential ranked Texas and neighboring Louisiana as the top two states in the nation for available pore space, the microscopic cavities in deep rock formations used to permanently trap carbon dioxide emissions, giving the two states a large advantage over Ohio and Pennsylvania in implementing decarbonization strategies. Enverus's 2024 study found that while carbon storage on the Gulf Coast can break even for as little as $8.70 per ton, only about 1% of Appalachian rock formations can be developed at a comparable price point under current federal subsidies. "Texas has a big head start," Blackmon told the Center Square, noting that overall storage opportunity across both Louisiana and the Lone Star State is immense due to their deep geological formations. Lacking the same deep storage geology, data center operators in Ohio and Pennsylvania cannot cheaply bury carbon emissions locally, and alternative plans to construct local wind or solar projects are stalled by PJM's seven-year grid connection delays. In the race to bring data centers online quickly, tech companies are increasingly choosing to deploy portable gas turbines and gas-powered fuel cells directly on-site, but these strategies are triggering pushback from environmental watchdogs. A coalition including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project recently threatened to sue developers Vantage Data Centers and VoltaGrid over behind-the-meter gas-fired power generation in San Antonio, alleging that the two tech sector companies are exploiting a legal loophole to bypass federal Clean Air Act reviews. "The developers are building massive power plants for a pair of huge data centers using permits meant only for minor sources of air pollution, allowing them to operate near residential neighborhoods without standard public disclosure or emissions monitoring," the coalition said in a legal challenge to the San Antonio data centers. In April, the Environmental Integrity Project released a report indicating that 74 planned off-grid data center gas-fired power plants now under consideration in the United States could emit 662 million tons of greenhouse gases annually - a climate footprint matching the nation of Australia. Mulvihill questions how long hyperscalers will want to remain off-grid given their rigid requirements for 99.995% operational uptime. "As time goes on - you've done four or five years behind the meter - do you not want to get an insurance connection to the grid?" Mulvihill asked. How that inevitable demand for an "insurance connection" to the public grid plays out - whether it shifts infrastructure costs onto everyday utility ratepayers - will be decided in the years ahead, according to Mulvihill.

Vantage explores $2bn-plus sale of Malaysian data centre assets - report. The operator has enlisted a financial adviser to work on the possible divestment. Vantage Data Centers, a hyperscale data centre campus operator, is weighing a potential sale of its Malaysian assets, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. The operator, which counts US alternative asset manager DigitalBridge Group among its backers, has enlisted a financial adviser to work on the possible divestment, the sources said. Any deal could value the Malaysian holdings at upwards of $2bn, they said. The sources cautioned that no final decision has been made and that Vantage may ultimately choose to hold onto the assets. Vantage and DigitalBridge did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment. Vantage's footprint in Malaysia includes a 31MW campus, Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com, in Cyberjaya, where a second, much larger campus with 436MW of capacity is under construction. Separately, in Johor, the company is building three data centres with a combined load exceeding 300MW, together forming what would be one of Southeast Asia's largest campuses. The potential sale comes as DigitalBridge itself is being acquired by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp in a deal valued at roughly $3bn. In other recent developments at Vantage, the company has named Ed Harnaga as its new chief marketing and communications officer. Harnaga, who will report to executive vice president Jeff Tench, will oversee Vantage's global marketing and communications function, covering brand strategy, corporate reputation, public relations, executive communications and regional marketing across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Elsewhere, Vantage struck a partnership in March with the Malaysia Forest Fund (MFF), an agency operating under Malaysia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, aimed at supporting forest protection and conservation work while benefiting local communities in Selangor. As part of the arrangement, Vantage will support the Penjaga Gunung (Mountain Guardian) initiative, one of the schemes falling under the Forest Conservation Certificate protocol overseen by the Malaysia Forest Fund. In February, French urban development group Altarea and Vantage agreed a partnership to build an AI and cloud data centre campus in France, which is expected to rank among the country's "largest". Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.

Residents demand transparency on Port Washington's $15B AI data center's water and environmental impact. Vantage says it committed to "sustainable data centers." Port Washington neighbors are raising questions about water use and environmental oversight surrounding the $15 billion "Lighthouse" AI data center campus being developed by Vantage in what was once rural farmland. Posted 4:42 PM, Jul 28, 2026 Port Washington neighbors are raising questions about water use and environmental oversight surrounding the $15 billion "Lighthouse" AI data center campus being developed by Vantage in what was once rural farmland. Residents say they want more transparency about how energy and water usage will be measured - and what legal protections will be in place as the hyper-scale facility takes shape. "I think there's a lot of confusion," said Port Washington neighbor Anna Seidl. "I'm certainly confused. I don't know what's happening anymore. Seidl said she wants the developers to make information publicly available. "Show me on paper. Have a website. Let's see it. Everything's been, to me, kind of hush-hush," Seidl said. The Wisconsin chapter of the Sierra Club is suing the Department of Natural Resources over the absence of an environmental impact statement for the project. Elizabeth Ward, director of the Wisconsin chapter of the Sierra Club, said the lawsuit is about holding developers accountable. "Some of our members live, unfortunately, right across the street," Ward said. Ward questioned what the DNR's decision means for future enforcement. "If the DNR reversed course on simply doing a review on the environmental impacts, which is what happened here, what does that mean about the level of enforcement they plan to ensure going forward?" Ward said. Ward said the path to transparency remains unclear. "So I'm not sure I can speak exactly to what it looks like. Whether it's a website that Vantage owns and runs, whether it's something the city puts up, or the water utility," Ward said. When asked what long-term transparency looks like beyond the environmental impact statement itself, Ward said the concerns extend further than just reporting data. "I think the concerns go beyond reporting what the impacts are, but also ensuring they minimize the impacts as much as possible," Ward said. The Port Washington water utility superintendent said the city is installing two new water meters this week that will track exactly how much water the data center facility uses, and the facility will be billed accordingly. Seidl said she wants to see those numbers. "I would love to see the bills. My water bill has gone up significantly, but it's not because of that right now, but is it gonna go up any more?" Seidl said. The city water utility declined a request to view the meters and how they work, citing security concerns. The utility also said it cannot release exact usage numbers without the customer's consent. Vantage Data Centers says its sprawling multi-building facility in Port Washington will use 22,000 gallons of water daily for kitchens and bathrooms, plus a one-time use of about 12 million gallons - equivalent to 18 Olympic-sized swimming pools - for a key component in its data centers. Signage inside a Vantage facility in Virginia says the company's goal is to build "sustainable data centers that minimize environmental impacts." But questions remain about whether those promises will be kept. Watch: Vantage North America says it has been open about the project from the start Vantage North America President Dana Adams said the company has been open about the project from the start. "We've been very transparent with the project from the beginning. We do have information that's publicly available on our, on our website about the details of the project," Adams said. The website details for its Lighthouse Port Washington project include information about power, cooling, and sustainability. Vantage uses a closed-loop water cooling system to reduce water consumption and containment areas to reduce energy needs in data halls with computer servers running 24/7. Environmental groups are suing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, claiming environmental impact statements for the Port Washington site were not completed. "I think what we can say very clearly is that we worked very closely with DNR to go through a very thorough vetting process on this project, and they were very diligent in that process in making sure that they got all of the information from us," Adams said. Vantage says it will comply with state regulations on air and noise emissions and will conduct its own monitoring. When asked whether air quality monitoring results could be made public, Adams said it "depends." "It depends on the circumstances. I think we want to be transparent and we understand that we need to be accountable for complying with what the regulations are and for complying with the information we've given so that we can obtain permits and move ahead with the project," Adams said. Vantage is also pointing to a $3 million commitment to fund a watershed restoration project in Port Washington to make the Valley Creek Corridor more sustainable as part of its environmental pledge. This is part of an ongoing series on AI data centers. Wednesday's report looks at employment numbers, and Thursday's report examines energy needs and costs. This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and Alex Gaul and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. Let's talk: Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we're all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com/tips. It's about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for "TMJ4" on your device.