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The rapid expansion of data center facilities across Oregon and Washington is pushing regional utilities toward increased reliance on natural gas and coal-fired power, raising concerns that both states may fall short of their established greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Why It Matters
Energy demand from data centers is reshaping the power grid across the Pacific Northwest, and the effects extend beyond state lines. As utilities scramble to meet surging electricity needs, they are purchasing more power from wholesale markets — electricity that is almost always generated by natural gas or coal. That shift threatens to undo years of emissions progress and could complicate Idaho’s regional grid reliability as neighboring states strain their infrastructure.
The tension between economic development and energy commitments is coming into sharp focus, particularly as federal officials have already pointed to data center demand to justify keeping Washington’s largest coal plant running.
What Happened
New analyses from Columbia Riverkeeper and the Sightline Institute document how utilities in Oregon and Washington have dramatically increased gas and coal power purchases to serve data center customers. The facilities, many of which were built along Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge in recent years, have concentrated massive energy loads on a small number of utilities.
Of more than 100 electric utilities operating across Oregon and Washington, just six absorbed nearly all new data center electricity loads over the past decade. Five of those utilities are now buying significantly more unspecified wholesale power than they were ten years ago — and that unspecified power is almost invariably sourced from natural gas or coal generation.
Umatilla Electric Cooperative, which serves the area where many large data center campuses are located, has seen load growth exceed 500 percent over the last decade. The cooperative has responded by purchasing more gas and coal-generated power on the wholesale market to keep pace.
Some public utility districts have gone further, permitting gas-powered generators specifically for data center backup power needs. Individual data center operators have also installed on-site gas generators at their facilities.
Puget Sound Energy has contracted for six new gas turbines at an undisclosed location in Washington, adding to the picture of growing gas infrastructure in the region.
By the Numbers
- 500%+ — load growth experienced by Umatilla Electric Cooperative over the past decade
- $60 billion — Amazon’s total investment in Oregon since 2010
- 65 million megawatt hours — the amount of coal and gas generation the states need to replace with renewables to meet climate targets
- 2037 — revised estimate for when Oregon will reach its 2035 emissions reduction goal, a two-year delay attributed largely to data center demand
- 6 — the number of utilities that absorbed nearly all new data center electricity loads in the region over the past decade
State Climate Goals Under Pressure
Oregon’s 2020 executive order established greenhouse gas reduction targets of 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2035, with a longer-term goal of 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. As recently as 2023, state modeling indicated Oregon was on track to hit those benchmarks. A more recent analysis, however, found the 2035 goal won’t be reached until 2037, with data center energy consumption cited as a primary driver of the setback.
Audrey Leonard, a staff attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper, described the situation in stark terms, saying that what was already a difficult challenge for the grid has been “turning that challenge into a crisis.”
Utilities have defended their decisions by pointing to regional energy reliability as justification for new gas infrastructure, even as state climate rules push in the opposite direction. That reliability argument has surfaced in broader debates about the Pacific Northwest grid, including ongoing discussions about hydropower and river management.
What the Tech Giants Say
Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan emphasized the company’s economic footprint, noting that Amazon “is committed to being a responsible neighbor in Oregon” and pointing to the more than $60 billion invested in the state since 2010. The company also says its data centers run about 10 percent more efficiently than the industry average.
Microsoft has committed to achieving 100 percent renewable energy coverage globally, with a target date of 2025, and says it is transitioning backup generators at its Washington data centers to renewable biofuel.
What’s Next
Both Oregon and Washington face pressure to reconcile growing power demand with legally and politically established emissions timelines. Utilities will likely continue justifying wholesale gas purchases under reliability arguments as long as renewable alternatives cannot fill the gap fast enough. The question of how to fund and accelerate that renewable buildout — and who bears the cost — will be a central issue for state regulators and lawmakers in the months ahead.
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