SpaceX and Anthropic are turning to gas to power AI
AI giants SpaceX and Anthropic are allocating billions to natural gas-powered solutions to reduce their dependence on grid connections.
Carrington Power Station in England. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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- SpaceX proposed a $24 billion Texas gas plant and super-compute facility, but regulators have not approved it.
- Anthropic reportedly took over 1.7 GW of Caterpillar generator commitments valued at about $3.4 billion.
- AI companies want on-site gas power because grid connections can take years.
- OpenAI says natural gas may be needed near term, though it has not named gas a long-term preference.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
As the AI industry expands rapidly, companies are forced to act on their own to secure power for their data centers. Waiting for grid interconnections can take years, while new large gas turbines and generators are not immediately available either. Both SpaceX and Anthropic have now seemingly found a solution.
Elon Musk-led SpaceX has proposed a $24 billion project to build and operate a gas-fired power plant and "super-compute facility" in Texas.
This is only a proposal, and nothing has been approved yet. A public hearing at the Brownsville City Commission is scheduled for December 9, 2026. The company hasn't provided any details about the plant's size, computing scale, jobs, or construction timeline.
While Musk himself hasn't commented on the project, he said in August 2026 that SpaceX and Tesla were each increasing their solar capacity, but natural gas would still be needed for several years to supplement and bootstrap it.
"The limiting factor for nat gas turbine production is casting the blades & vanes. By doing in-house casting at SpaceX, we can accelerate nat gas turbines coming online by up to 18 months, which is a profound game-changer," the entrepreneur said back then.
Meanwhile, another AI giant, Claude developer Anthropic, has found its own way to deal with gas turbine-related challenges. The Financial Times, citing undisclosed sources, reported that Anthropic took over commitments for 1.7 GW of heavy-duty Caterpillar generators from OnePWR Solutions for around $3.4 billion in late September, without even acquiring the company. Both entities declined to comment on the matter. However, investment bank Piper Sandler disclosed on its website that it had served as the exclusive financial advisor to OnePWR "on its sale of power generation platform to a frontier AI lab." The transaction was valued at $3.4 billion.
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Anthropic, which is preparing for its initial public offering, has also already presented on-site gas as a solution for securing power faster than waiting for grid connections.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT developer OpenAI will also likely become another AI giant increasing demand for natural gas. While it hasn't framed gas as a preferred long-term solution, the company acknowledges that natural gas could be a necessary near-term power source.
