AI’s Massive Power Needs Drive a Surprise Renaissance for Gas

Energy companies in the US are planning new natural gas-fired power generation at the fastest pace in years, one of the clearest signals yet that fossil fuels are likely to have a longer runway than previously thought.

From Florida to Oregon, utilities are racing to meet a surge in demand from power-hungry AI data centers, manufacturing facilities and electric vehicles. The staying power of gas, which in 2016 overtook coal as the No. 1 US source of electricity, has surprised some experts who not so long ago had projected the era of frenzied domestic demand growth for the fuel might ...