Name: AI data centers force dirty ‘peaker’ power plants back into service
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T17:47:58.174Z
Duration: 3 min 31 s
Description: Surging electric power demand for AI processing centers is keeping dirty power plants slated for closure still operating.

Surging electric power demand for AI processing centers is keeping dirty power plants slated for closure still operating.

Chicago

A surge in electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers is leading to the reactivation of fossil-fueled 'peaker' power plants across the United States. These facilities, such as Chicago's Fisk plant, had been scheduled for retirement but are now being pressed back into service to help meet peak power needs and prevent blackouts.

Peaker plants, which are often located in low-income and minority communities, emit more pollution and are costlier to operate than continuous power plants. Recent data shows that planned retirements for several such plants have been delayed or canceled, raising concerns among local residents and officials about environmental and social impacts.

AI data centers force dirty ‘peaker’ power plants back into service

In Chicago's working-class Pilsen neighborhood, an oil-fired power plant built in the 1960s rises up from an industrial lot behind Dvorak Park, which in warmer weather is packed with children. The rarely-used Fisk power plant was scheduled to retire next year, but then came electricity demands from artificial intelligence. Fisk, owned by Houston-based NRG Energy, is among a growing number of electric plants being pressed back into duty across the U.S. They are classified as peakers because they are meant to run only in short bursts during periods of peak electrical demand. They're intended to stave off blackouts by supplying power on a moment's notice. But there's a trade-off. These often decades-old, fossil-fueled facilities emit more pollution when they are running and cost more to produce electricity than continuous power plants. And the country's roughly 1,000 peaker plants are disproportionately located in low-income communities of color, according to academic and federal government research. People can say, well, the peakers, they only operate occasionally. They're not nearly as big of a pollution source as the coal-fired power plant was when it was operating. Jerry Mead Lucero is a longtime advocate for closing the Fisk plant. I'm very cognizant of the fact that communities like Pilsen, immigrant communities, working-class communities, communities of color, are the ones that are, you know, unduly impacted all over the country. This is something that we see all over the United States. You have to understand the race and class dimensions when you're addressing an issue like this. We have more energy than any other country, and now we're unleashing it, to put it nicely. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration says it's exploring ways to tap into existing power sources. So how many gigawatts of coal do you want to stop from saving? All of it that's viable. In an interview with Reuters in September, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, quote, There are a ton of peaker plants that could operate more, but said clean air regulations have prevented them doing so. While peaker plants contribute 3 percent of the country's power, a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office said they have the total capacity to produce 19 percent. Keeping them running, or ramping up their use, has some worried about environmental and social costs. Byron Sigchio Lopez is a Chicago City Council member. They have to be good neighbors and responsible, so it's my hope that they actually discuss with the community in good faith and openly what are the community benefits, because we bear all the costs and barely really see any benefits. A spokesperson for NRG Energy told Reuters, quote, During its runtimes, the power plant consistently operates within federal and state environmental regulations, and we are proud of its record. FISC is part of the nation's largest electrical grid, PJM Interconnection, which stretches across 13 states and covers the world's biggest concentration of data centers. Letters reviewed by Reuters show about 23 oil, gas, and coal power plants in PJM territory were scheduled to retire starting in 2025 or shortly after. But since January, the letters show U.S. power companies, the grid operator, and the federal government have delayed or canceled the retirements of 13 of those power plants. Of those power plants that averted closure, 11 were peakers. A PJM spokesperson told Reuters, quote, It is clear today, nationally, that electricity demand is outstripping supply. The market reflects this, and generators are responding. In the meantime, as AI power demand rises, communities like Pilsen, which have successfully fought to close some pollution sources in recent history, may find peaker plants more difficult to fight.

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