As it prepares to go public, Anthropic has revealed in its S-1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its generative AI operations rely heavily on natural gas. The documents highlight that data centers are becoming increasingly dependent on the fossil fuel, leaving the company’s AI infrastructure vulnerable to rising fuel costs and supply chain constraints.
Fossil Fuel Dependency and Climate Risks
Anthropic stated in its filing that competition for electrical supply and data center locations with adequate power is intense. Some of the company’s planned data centers rely on electricity generated by on-site natural gas turbines. Although Anthropic leases capacity from hyperscalers, it announced a $50 billion plan last year to expand data centers in Texas and New York.
The United States is planning to build more fossil fuel generation capacity than it has in a decade to meet surging data center electricity demands. The administration of Donald Trump has pushed to support fossil fuels, arguing they provide reliable round-the-clock power compared to intermittent solar and wind farms.
A shortage of gas turbines is currently slowing data center construction, leading developers to install gas engines on-site or rely on simpler turbine technology to bypass long wait times for grid connections. According to a recent Texas-based study, this electricity demand could wipe out decades of air quality gains over the next five years by increasing soot, smog, and carbon dioxide levels.
In a paradoxical catch-22, Anthropic’s S-1 notes that the climate change caused by burning fossil fuels will increase its own operating costs. The company expects to pay more for electricity and water to cool servers as global temperatures climb.
Market Competition and Regulatory Hurdles
Anthropic anticipates heightened competition for natural gas and pipeline capacity from other hyperscalers and cloud service providers building data centers, which could drive up fuel prices. Natural gas currently accounts for 40 percent of the US electricity mix, and Americans are already experiencing rising utility costs as the energy infrastructure expands to meet demand.
Public pushback has successfully blocked numerous proposed data centers across the US. Anthropic admits that concerns over ballooning utility bills could interfere with project development, noting that regulators might impose conditions or standby charges if data center power demands negatively affect other customers.
The company warns that if regulators force developers to shoulder more infrastructure costs, or if it fails to secure a reliable gas supply and necessary pipelines, it may have to delay or abandon data center projects entirely.
Anthropic concluded in its filing: “Any failure to secure access to adequate electrical power, any legal, regulatory, or other administrative action or change limiting the availability of electricity, or any significant increase in energy or compliance costs, could adversely affect our cost structure and limit our ability to scale our compute infrastructure, develop and deploy our models, and service our customers.”
