People across the Southwest oppose fossil-fueled AI data centers because they threaten their health, climate, and scarce water resources. But there is more to this story. The AI data center buildout is also a gas pipeline buildout, and the fossil fuel industry is racing alongside tech companies to build polluting gas infrastructure to power the data center boom.
Across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the Desert Southwest Pipeline would be a massive, dangerous project designed solely to provide energy to data centers throughout the region. Stopping the pipeline is directly tied to blocking fossil fuel-dependent data center projects.
Jensen Huang, the former CEO of NVIDIA, described the artificial intelligence ecosystem as a five layer cake, with energy being the first level because it is the foundation of any AI operation: “energy being converted into computation.” In a recent paper, PriceWaterhouseCooper analysts conclude that “the AI buildout is rapidly becoming a gas-delivery story” and that gas demand is expected to increase significantly due to the considerable growth of AI data centers. That is exactly what we are seeing in the Southwest.
If built, Energy Transfer Partners’ Desert Southwest pipeline would deliver gas from the Permian Basin to power plants connected to data centers, like Hueco Ranch (Hudspeth County, Texas), Project Jupiter (Santa Teresa, NM), Project Blue (Tucson, AZ), Tombstone/SpaceX (Cochise County, AZ), among others. As proposed, the Desert Southwest pipeline would be 516 miles of 48” main pipeline and 186 miles of smaller laterals, all with the capacity to deliver 2.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day. That much methane gas is estimated at 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year emitted from extraction to end use, that’s the same annual emissions as 23 coal-fired power plants.
In addition to methane emissions that harm public health by increasing asthma attacks and other chronic diseases, construction and operation of the Desert Southwest Pipeline would threaten the region’s rivers with drilling mud and leaks, and rip apart fragile ecosystems with a 100 foot easement through the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts. The pipeline would also put communities at risk of catastrophic explosions. According to a 2025 report by the FracTracker Alliance, pipeline incidents occur on “average of 1.7 incidents per day since 2010.” Stopping the Desert Southwest pipeline would impact the dirty energy supply for the data center buildout, forcing the companies behind these projects to consider renewable energy resources like wind, solar, or geothermal to meet their massive energy needs.
It is so important for communities to understand that the AI data center buildout is not just about those facilities themselves, but is directly linked to efforts by Big Oil and Gas to lock in our reliance on polluting, dangerous, under-regulated fossil fuels.
In Texas, an August poll found that “57% of all Texas voters opposed a data center in their community; opposition included 43% of Republicans, 54% of independents and 60% of rural voters.” That level of opposition led Governor Abbot to freeze environmental permitting and grid connections for all new AI data centers, though the audit period is scheduled to be complete before the end of the year. A September poll found “that 65% of New Mexicans oppose large-scale data centers and 75% support a state law to pause new projects until regulations are established.”
That opposition forced then gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland, who was criticized for taking donations from data center companies, to declare that she would sign a moratorium on data centers on day one of her administration. People power is changing the politics around data centers in New Mexico and Texas, and other regions around the country and it is time to direct that public outcry at the fossil fuel industry.
The Trump administration consistently rolls out the red carpet for the oil and gas industry, and gives handouts to expand fossil fuel use. But fossil fuel infrastructure expansion poses real risks to people and communities, and energy-hungry AI data centers only raise those risks.
Organizers in communities across the Southwest understand the threats both data centers, and the gas pipelines that would supply them with energy, pose. After a summer of extreme heat and record flooding, the risks associated with increased fossil fuel-driven climate change are as clear as ever. People are starting to stand up against infrastructure projects that will worsen those harms. We are coming together to fight against fossil fuel infrastructure meant to power risky data centers and take on the corporate greed of the tech and fossil fuel industries.
The Desert Southwest Pipeline is by no means the only gas pipeline being planned to power the AI data center boom. We are tracking recent proposals like the Silver Spur pipeline in Idaho, Southeast Connector pipeline in Tennessee, and many other gas pipeline projects. Many of the proposed gas pipelines and expansion projects intend to supply energy for data centers, and they face public outcry. Together we can build the momentum to stop gas fueled data center expansions to protect our climate and communities.