Sierra Club: data centers may wipe out 15 years of US emissions cuts

On November 1, 2026, Solidot reported on an analysis by the Sierra Club. The analysis projects that by 2030, carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector could reach 2.1 billion metric tons, roughly 42% above 2025 levels. That projected increase would wipe out the progress the power sector has made on emissions reductions over the past 15 years. According to the Sierra Club, power demand from AI infrastructure is growing faster than the clean-energy grid can keep up with, as data centers scale up. To get around long waits for interconnection with the public grid, some technology companies have been building on-site generation facilities that rely heavily on fossil fuels. The analysis estimates that by 2030, off-grid generation facilities built or commissioned by data center developers could emit more than 460 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, roughly the same as Mexico's annual emissions. As of the available reporting, the story remains at the stage of the Sierra Club publishing its analysis; no responses from other parties or further developments appear in the material.