Anthropic S-1 flags natural gas reliance for AI data centers

Anthropic's S-1 filing comes as the company prepares to go public, and it lays out a tangle of energy and climate risks. The filing acknowledges that data centers are becoming more reliant on natural gas, and that some planned sites will use on-site gas turbines. This reliance is set against a backdrop where the US is planning to build more fossil fuel generation capacity than it has in a decade, as data centers demand more electricity.

The filing also points to a possible catch-22: rising global temperatures, a symptom of burning fossil fuels, will increase Anthropic's operating costs as it pays more for electricity and water to cool servers. Meanwhile, a shortage of gas turbines is slowing data center construction, and developers are turning to less efficient and more polluting on-site power generation to avoid grid connection wait times. Anthropic expects competition for natural gas and pipeline capacity from hyperscalers to drive up prices.

Beyond fuel costs, the filing flags regulatory and community risks. Residents have blocked dozens of proposed data centers across the US, and Anthropic acknowledges that if its efforts to secure power are perceived to affect other utility customers, regulators may impose conditions or standby charges. Without a secure gas supply and pipelines, Anthropic says it might need to delay or abandon planned data center projects, which could ultimately stunt its growth.