Chevron to fuel massive Microsoft data center in Texas with natural gas

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNBC

Published Mon, Jun 22 2026 7:59 AM EDT Updated 24 Min Ago


Chevron will fuel a massive Microsoft data center in West Texas with natural gas under a 20-year agreement, the oil major announced Monday. The data center, called Project Kilby, is expected to consume nearly 2.7 gigawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to about 2 million homes.

A majority of the electricity will come from large gas turbines from Chevron’s partner GE Vernova. Caterpillar will also provide turbines. The power infrastructure will be located at the data center site.

Project Kilby has not started construction in Reeves County. Chevron expects to make a final investment decision on the project later this year. The data center would start receiving power in 2028.

Microsoft’s parternship with Chevron comes as it undertakes a massive buildout of data centers to power artificial intelligence applications. It plans $190 billion in capital expenditures this year, a 61% increase over 2025. Microsoft’s embrace of natural gas through a partnership with the oil industry shows it is willing to invest in a fossil fuel to meet its electricity needs.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/22/chevron-cvx-microsoft-msft-natural-gas-data-center.html

[Ray Bruns]

1. I always thought we would blow ourselves up. Now, I think our species dies with a whimper.

[progree]

2. For AI data centers, natural gas is king

More natural gas-fired generation are currently in development to power US data centers than California's entire generating capacity from all sources combined. (this is something I posted back in April). California's economy is the 4th largest in the world.

As data center developers face lengthy wait times to connect to electricity grids and rising concerns over consumer electric bills, they’re increasingly turning to building their own energy, or what’s known as behind-the-meter power. For these projects, gas is king; data centers are now driving a US boom in natural gas. Nearly 100 gigawatts ((100,000 MW -progree)) of natural-gas fired power are currently in development throughout the US solely to power data centers, according to research ( https://www.wired.com/story/data-centers-are-driving-a-us-gas-boom/ ) published by the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor in January.

More: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=edit&forum=1069&thread=14093&pid=14093

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Another equivalence that might be more relatable --

The amount of natural-gas-fired generation in development just to power near-future U.S. data centers is equivalent, in greenhouse gas emissions, to adding 100 MILLION ADDITIONAL gasoline-fueled cars to the roads. All that mostly just for AI and cryptocurrency mining.