Anthropic joins AI’s natural gas frenzy, buys $3.4B worth of turbines
Anthropic bought billions of dollars worth of natural gas turbines in a deal that could give it buyer's remorse.
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AI's power demands have become so severe that Anthropic, an AI company that historically preferred renting computing infrastructure, is now spending $3.4 billion to purchase natural gas turbines capable of producing 1.7 gigawatts of electricity. The purchase represents a shift driven by constrained power markets, with backlogs for natural gas turbines extending into the early 2030s and long queues to connect to electrical grids. Other major AI companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have similarly announced plans to build massive natural gas power plants for their data centers, contributing to increased demand for natural gas extraction and equipment. If this trend continues as planned, U.S. data centers alone could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035, and price increases could expose these companies to significant financial risk.
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