亞馬遜在德州收購了一座大規模離網發電廠，用於為其資料中心供電。該電廠獲准每年排放高達三千三百萬噸溫室氣體，成為美國最大的溫室氣體排放源之一。該電廠完全依賴簡單循環渦輪機，這種渦輪機的效率遠低於一般電網電廠所使用的複合循環機組，因為後者能回收廢熱來產生更多電力。即使實際排放量僅為許可上限的一半，其溫室氣體排放仍將超過七十八座平均規模天然氣電廠的總和。（關鍵數字：33, 78）
使用簡單循環渦輪機正在成為資料中心電力開發商日益普遍的做法。Meta在俄亥俄州、Crusoe為微軟和Google在德州建設的電廠，以及xAI在孟菲斯的Colossus資料中心，都採用了大量簡單循環渦輪機。業界之所以傾向於這種技術，是因為它安裝速度更快、成本更低，且能快速啟停以應對人工智慧訓練所需的巨大能量波動，同時也不需要用水，避免了社區對水資源的爭議。（關鍵數字： a years）
這些離網電廠的快速建設引發了對「平行化石燃料電網」形成的擔憂，這些電廠設計壽命長達數十年，將持續產生數百萬噸溫室氣體排放。雖然亞馬遜等公司承諾未來會將電廠接入電網，並聲稱仍致力於二零四零年實現淨零排放，但業界專家指出，若人工智慧泡沫破裂或科技公司的能源需求下降，這些龐大而低效的天然氣電廠可能成為「擱淺資產」。
Amazon has acquired a massive off-grid power plant under construction in Texas for one of its data centers, permitted to emit up to 33 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. The facility relies entirely on simple-cycle gas turbines, which are significantly less efficient than the combined-cycle units used by conventional on-grid power plants because they waste heat rather than recapturing it for additional energy generation. Even at half the permitted emission levels, the plant would still produce more greenhouse gas pollution than 78 average-sized natural gas plants combined, according to the EPA.
The use of simple-cycle turbines is becoming widespread among data center power developers. Companies including Meta, Microsoft, Google, and xAI are all building or planning facilities powered by these less efficient turbines across Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee. The trend is driven by practical considerations: simple-cycle turbines are faster and cheaper to install amid a years-long backlog for turbine orders, they can rapidly start up and shut down to meet the intense and fluctuating energy demands of AI model training, and they do not require water cooling—sidestepping a growing concern for communities near data centers.
The rapid proliferation of islanded power plants using inefficient turbines raises serious environmental concerns, as many are designed to operate for decades and could collectively create a parallel fossil fuel grid generating millions of tons of emissions. While some companies, including Amazon and Williams, have indicated plans to eventually connect their plants to the public grid, the timeline remains uncertain. Industry experts warn that if the AI boom subsides or energy demands decline, these massive gas plants could become stranded assets with no viable purpose, representing both an environmental and financial liability.