Microsoft is open to use natural gas to provide electricity to data centers to keep with demand

Houston – Microsoft Carbon capture is open to deploy natural gas with technology, which is to power the artificial intelligence data centers, the vice -president of the technology company’s energy told the CNBC.

“It won’t be away from the table at all,” said Bobby Hallis. But the executive stated that Microsoft would consider natural gas with carbon capture, if the project is “commercially viable and cost competitive.”

Oil and gas companies have been developing carbon capture technology over the years, but the industry has struggled to launch it on a commercial scale due to high costs associated with such projects. Technology captures carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sites and collects deep underground.

Microsoft has ambitious goals to address climate, which by 2030 match all their power consumption with carbon-free energy. The tech company has purchased more than 30 gigawatts of Akshaya Shakti in search of that goal. But the technical sector has come to the conclusion that only renewable goods are not enough to give strength to the needs of the demand power of data centers.

Microsoft moved to nuclear power last year, signing a deal to support the recurrent of the three Mile Islands through an agreement to purchase electricity from the currently closed plant. But it is unlikely that the US will create a significant amount of extra vague power by the 2030s.

Data centers developers see rapid natural gas as a close-term power solution despite their carbon-dioxide emissions. The Trump administration focuses on promoting natural gas production. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday that renewable power cannot change the role of gas in power generation.

Hallis said, “We have always been familiar with that the fossil will not disappear as fast as we all expect.” “It is being said, we knew that natural gas is a very close solution that we are seeing, especially for AI deployment.”

Exon Mobil and Chevron announced last December that they are entering data center space with a plan to develop natural gas plants with carbon capture technology. The Chevron entered into an agreement with GE Vennova, with flexibility to integrate “carbon capture and storage technology”, Gas Turbine Manufacturer GE Venoo in Gas Plants for Data Centers.

Hallis refused to say whether Microsoft was interacting with big companies. The executive said that the tech company is “discussing the board with all those technologies.”

President Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum in January that he would use emergency powers to accelerate the construction of power plants for data centers. Trump said that the data centers can use whatever fuel they want. Chevron and GE Vennova announced their plan to build gas plants for data centers after Trump’s comments.

When asked about the plans of the Trump administration, Hallis said, “We are happy to see that we focus on intensifying the schedule to see as a very important need.”

But deploying natural gas faces its challenges. Nextra CEO John Ketham said on Monday that the cost of new natural gas plants has been tripled and the line of plant manufacturing is now spread by 2030. Nextra is the largest developer of renewal in the US, but also has gas property.

“Renewal is ready to go up and running,” Kitchm said at the conference. “It is cheap and it is still available until you have already on a turbine order or it has already been allowed.”

Keechm said that atoms are unlikely to be a power solution by 2035. The Duane Arnold is considering restarting the duane arnold nuclear plant at Nextra Iowa.