In the Midwest, more coal power for data centers

Kansas and Missouri utility Evergy wants to keep about 2.8 gigawatts of its coal plants running at least five years past their planned retirement or conversion dates. The main reason is a surge of new data centers signing on for power in the region — more than 2 gigawatts worth so far, plus another 500 megawatts of other new demand. Evergy also plans to build 5 gigawatts of new generation, most of it natural gas. Regulators in both states still need to approve the coal delay.

This fits a broader pattern: data center growth tied to artificial intelligence is pushing utilities around the country to lean on coal longer than expected, including in Georgia and Mississippi. Nationally, power-sector carbon emissions rose 2% last year, partly because more electricity came from coal.

Google's 710-megawatt Kansas City data center is Evergy's largest customer under this deal, and it's using a solar power contract in Missouri to offset some of its electricity use. But how much credit that solar gets depends on the season — it counts for less power in winter than summer — so it doesn't fully cancel out the added fossil fuel generation. The new large-load rates are meant to make data centers cover their share of costs, including the aging coal plants, but whether that actually happens won't be clear for years. For homeowners, this mostly means your regional grid may keep more coal and gas plants online longer than planned, which matters less for your rates directly and more for how clean your area's electricity supply stays over the next decade.