{"id":77036,"date":"2026-06-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/?p=77036"},"modified":"2026-06-24T17:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:12:31","slug":"energy-transfer-is-inflating-the-ai-bubble-with-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/energy-transfer-is-inflating-the-ai-bubble-with-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Transfer is inflating the AI bubble with gas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Greenpeace
\u00a9 Ollie Harrop \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

One of the US\u2019s biggest pipeline companies, Energy Transfer, is ready to capitalize on the frenzied expansion of energy-guzzling data centers. In an industry conference interview published<\/a> on April 14, Energy Transfer CFO Dylan Bramhall identified the biggest key growth opportunity for the company: investments in gas infrastructure to supply US data centers. As the gas industry leans into the energy demand from the data center boom, it\u2019s increasingly clear that the AI bubble isn’t just overheating financial markets \u2013 it will overheat the planet.<\/p>\n\n

The fossil fuel industry is at a crossroads. Renewables and battery storage have become cheap enough that they are driving out gas and coal. Many oil and gas sources are increasingly difficult to extract, and oil and gas are increasingly seen with skepticism<\/a> as war and geopolitics exacerbate<\/a> a global affordability crisis. The extreme weather and cumulative impacts of emissions are harder to ignore every year. But Energy Transfer, like other oil and gas companies, sees data centers as a profitable new market opportunity<\/a> in the face of such crises. <\/p>\n\n

Data center developers have been desperate to get proposed projects approved, constructed, and operating as quickly as possible, in hopes that new advanced tech (especially generative artificial intelligence) will turn big profits and establish a first-mover advantage. That means that developers are looking for the fastest and cheapest way to deploy the energy needed to feed the power-hungry complexes. Bramhall claimed reliability and speed to market as the motivator for data center developers to partner with gas companies, despite the well-established affordability and reliability<\/a> of renewables and new evidence<\/a> suggesting that on-site gas may be more expensive than connecting to the grid.<\/p>\n\n

The outrageous and unjustified buildout of data centers has given pipeline gas, in particular, a jolt. Despite significant grassroots resistance nationwide, massive investments continue to pour into data centers while the world waits<\/a> for real evidence that new generative AI tools driving hyperscaler buildout will actually prove useful and turn a profit<\/a>. As ET executive chairman Kelcy Warren is reported to have said<\/a>, \u201cthe pipeline business will overbuild until the end of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Energy Transfer\u2019s data center deals \u2013 what we know<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Bramhall claimed that Energy Transfer has been in conversation with data center developers in \u201c13 or 14 states\u201d. An investigation<\/a> by Oil Change International and the Guardian showed Energy Transfer had received dozens of requests to power data centers after Trump<\/a> took office in 2025. These conversations between developers, tech companies, regulators, and service providers (including energy companies) happen behind closed doors, but here are a few data center projects where Energy Transfer has secured deals to supply gas:<\/p>\n\n