US pulls ahead of China in building natural gas to power AI data centers

The United States is building twice as much natural gas as China, giving Washington a leg up in the race to power data centers running artificial intelligence, according to a new report.

US pulls ahead of China in building natural gas to power AI data centers

TL;DR

  • U.S. is building twice as much natural gas as China.
  • This expansion is to power data centers running artificial intelligence.
  • Natural gas projects under development in the U.S. in H1 2026 are 50% higher than the total for 2025.
  • Approximately 189 gigawatts of new gas-fired capacity in development in H1 2026 is planned for data centers.
  • This is nearly double the 97 gigawatts planned for data centers in all of 2025.