AI's insatiable appetite for electricity is colliding with hard physical limits — and the political fallout is already reshaping where the next wave of data centers can be built.

Evidence For

• Amazon is investing in a natural-gas power plant at a planned data center in Pecos County, Texas, permitted to release 33 million tons of CO2 per year — more than any other power plant in the United States.
• Global data centers already consume 414 terawatt-hours annually,...