America now has 3 times the amount of gas power in development as China, thanks to data centers

The U.S. data center boom is driving such a surge in gas power developments that the country is now outpacing China, with nearly three times the amount of gas-fired capacity in the works. In the first half of 2026 alone, the gas-fired capacity under development for data centers in the U.S. nearly doubled, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor, a research nonprofit that tracks energy infrastructure. At the end of 2025, the nonprofit identified 97 gigawatts (GW) of gas power projects in development that were specifically planned here on-site for data centers. Now, that figure has jumped to 189 GW. One gigawatt of electricity, for context, is enough to power about a million homes. [Image: Global Energy Monitor] Those figures include projects that have been announced, are in preconstruction, or are under construction. It’s also just a part of the surge in U.S. gas projects overall. General gas power in development in the U.S. has jumped 50% in the first half of 2026, per Global Energy Monitor, from 252 GW to 378 GW. [Image: Global Energy Monitor] A third of that project pipeline is in Texas alone, where 122 GW of gas-fired capacity are in development—more than many enti…