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US gas plant plans jump 44% in just 8 months – here’s why
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US proposed grid-connected gas power capacity has jumped 44% in just eight months, climbing to 60.4 gigawatts through the end of 2030 as surging data center electricity demand reshapes the nation's energy plans. The analysis comes from Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group, based on filings submitted to the federal Energy Information Administration.
The planned gas buildout nearly triples the capacity expected as of early 2023, rising from 41.8 GW in December 2025 to today's 60.4 GW figure. For perspective, that proposed new gas capacity alone exceeds the total generating capacity of every individual US state except Texas, California, and Florida. The figures represent planned projects, meaning not all of the capacity will ultimately be built.
Meanwhile, planned wind additions have dropped 33.9% since December 2025, and planned solar additions have stalled, even though solar still leads the list of expected new generating capacity. The groups warn that clean energy plans are not keeping pace with the data center boom.
Texas accounts for 33.2% of the proposed new gas capacity, roughly a third of the national total, and would expand the state's existing gas generating capacity by almost 25%. Louisiana follows with 6.6 GW, then Pennsylvania with 4.4 GW, Oklahoma with 3 GW, and Mississippi with 2.6 GW. Together, those five states represent about 60% of planned additions, and the tally excludes off-grid gas plants built to supply data centers directly.
Burning gas produces soot and ground-level ozone pollution, while methane can escape during natural gas production and transportation. Modeling cited in the analysis estimates nearly 600,000 asthma symptom cases and about 1,300 premature deaths in 2028 under a high-growth data center scenario.
"Surging electricity demand to power data centers is putting our nation's transition to clean energy at risk," said Andre Delattre, senior vice president of The Public Interest Network. Johanna Neumann of Environment America Research & Policy Center added that building new gas plants jeopardizes health, the planet, and future generations.
The concern is longevity: gas plants built today could lock the US into decades of continued fossil fuel dependence, potentially delaying coal retirements and slowing renewable growth.
