Anthropic's S-1 Filing Reveals Natural Gas Dependency of AI Data Centers

In S-1 documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its initial public offering preparations, Anthropic disclosed that its data centers are increasingly dependent on natural gas. The company stated that this situation could leave infrastructure expansion efforts vulnerable to rising fuel costs, supply chain constraints, and climate change risks.

In its filing on Monday, Anthropic emphasized that competition for electricity supply and data center locations with adequate power capacity is extremely intense. The company noted that some planned data centers rely on electricity generated by on-site natural gas turbines. Having announced a $50 billion plan last year to expand data centers in Texas and New York, the company stated that projects could be delayed or canceled if the security of energy infrastructure and fuel pipelines cannot be ensured.

While electricity demand for data centers increases across the U.S., shortages of gas turbines are slowing down construction processes. Developers are installing gas engines on sites to shorten grid connection times. However, it is stated that this situation reduces efficiency and increases pollution. On the other hand, Anthropic noted that climate change will also be a risk factor threatening profitability by increasing server cooling water and electricity costs due to rising temperatures.