Amazon fuel cells would use natural gas to power Oregon data centers, increasing carbon footprint

An aerial view of a large warehouse-style building in a field

Amazon operates a constellation of four data centers near Boardman, about 160 miles up the Columbia River from Portland. It wants to power three of them with fuel cells. Dave Killen / The Oregonian

Amazon wants to power at least three of its Oregon data centers — and perhaps as many as seven — with natural gas fuel cells that regulators say would contribute even more to climate change than the grid electricity Amazon has been using.

Unlike a traditional power plant that combusts natural gas to spin a turbine, Amazon proposes to use a fuel cell technology that will oxidize the fossil fuel to generate electricity.

“We are investing in fuel cells as a way to power a small number of our operations in Oregon,” Amazon said in a written statement. “We continually innovate to minimize our impact on our neighbors, local resources, and the environment and this technology provides a pathway for less carbon intensive solutions in the region.”

State regulators describe it differently. While the fuel cells cut down on pollutants that can create localized air quality hazards, regulators’ comments about Amazon’s proposal – obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive through a public records request – indicate the fuel cells don’t reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

In fact, state data shows that because the fuel cells would reduce the data centers’ use of clean hydropower, they would actually increase Amazon’s carbon footprint in the region.

Amazon has said previously it is committed to “to procure 100% renewable energy” for its operations by 2025. The fuel cells suggest Amazon may be moving in the opposite direction in Oregon.

“Does (Amazon) really think we won’t dig around and find out where their electricity is coming from? That’s silly,” said Angus Duncan, former chair of the Oregon Global Warming Commission and consultant to the National Resources Defense Council.

The tech giant’s fuel cells would be the primary source of electricity for three Amazon data centers and emit the equivalent of 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. That means three Amazon data centers would generate a fifth of the carbon impact of the entire gas-fired power plant Portland General Electric operates nearby.

The fuel cells could run afoul of a clean energy bill before the Oregon Legislature, which would require data centers and cryptocurrency miners to meet the same emissions standards as large electrical utilities.

“If they want to use fuel cells there, let them use fuel cells there but let them confine themselves to no more liberal an emissions structure than the investor-owned utilities have committed to,” Duncan said. Amazon “can get (power) from a magic globe as far as I’m concerned. That’s not the issue. The issue is their emissions.”

Oregon is home to a large cluster of data centers operated by many of the nation’s largest tech companies. They’re attracted by relatively cheap electricity, water, big parcels of rural land and huge tax breaks. Property tax exemptions saved Amazon $53 million last year on its data centers in Morrow County, and another $23 million on data centers in neighboring Umatilla County.

Data centers need huge quantities of electricity to power their computers and keep them cool. Facebook and Apple have financed solar or wind projects near their data centers in Prineville to provide clean energy for their operations.

Amazon, though, powers its Morrow County data centers with energy from the local utility, the Umatilla Electric Cooperative. Amazon has a cluster of four enormous data centers in the county of 12,000 residents, 160 miles up the Columbia River from Portland.

Because the cooperative has exhausted its relatively small allocation of hydroelectricity from the Bonneville Power Administration, it must go to the open market to buy electricity to meet Amazon’s needs. Most of that power is generated with natural gas, a fossil fuel with a relatively high carbon footprint.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported last year that Amazon’s growing footprint in Morrow County has coincided with an enormous rise in regional carbon emissions since 2018.

Amazon first briefed the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality about its fuel cell plans last summer, according to the Amazon’s submissions to the state.

The documents show Amazon hopes to install the fuel cells at three data centers by August, potentially adding fuel cells at four more sites nearby in the future. They would be the first fuel cells of this type in Oregon and represent the first time Amazon has used this technology at data centers anywhere in the world.

The records show Amazon fuel cells would come from a California company, Bloom Energy, which says in its filings they would provide reliable power without locking Amazon into long-term commitments.

Bloom Energy’s website touts fuel cells as a way to work around constrained electrical transmission lines by using generated power on site. Amazon plans to build as many as five more data centers in Morrow County.

The fuel cell technology generates electricity “by harnessing an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen from natural gas fuel and oxygen in the ambient air,” according to a permit application that Amazon’s consultants submitted to the state.

The records describe Amazon’s fuel cell installations as 24.3 megawatts apiece. That’s just below a 25-megawatt limit on new, natural gas electrical plants the Oregon Legislature adopted in a landmark climate bill passed in 2021.

Amazon doesn’t report its electricity use at individual data centers so it’s not clear exactly how much carbon dioxide its existing power arrangement generates. Nor is it clear how the fuel cells’ costs compare to the power the company buys from Umatilla Electric.

In a report on Amazon’s proposal, Oregon DEQ says emissions from the oxidizing fuel cells are “essentially the same as combustion of natural gas.”

Amazon’s shift would increase the company’s greenhouse gas emissions overall, according to DEQ calculations. That’s because the fuel cells are entirely reliant on natural gas, whereas Umatilla Electric’s power mix includes hydropower, which has no climate impact. (The DEQ says the fuel cells’ greenhouse gas intensity is 61% higher than the average emissions from Umatilla Electric power.

The fuel cells don’t emit other pollutants associated with natural gas combustion. These pollutants are not significant contributors to climate change but can create air quality hazards in the immediate area around a power plant.

Bloom says its fuel cells are “essentially feedstock neutral,” so they could be adapted to use cleaner fuels such as renewable natural gas or hydrogen, which could reduce their climate impact. Amazon has a representative on the board of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association, which is promoting efforts to participate in a federal effort to establish “hydrogen hubs” around the country.

Today, though, hydrogen fuel cells aren’t widely used, because hydrogen extraction is both expensive and energy intensive. While Amazon’s statement about its Oregon fuel cells describes a “pathway for less carbon intensive solutions,” its filings with the state do not include a plan to move to hydrogen. And if it ever does move to a cleaner fuel, it doesn’t appear it will be soon.

Amazon’s plans indicate the company wants to supply its data centers with natural gas by connecting to the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline, which carries natural gas from British Columbia through Oregon to California.

GTN would build three connectors, each a little more than a mile, to link Amazon’s data centers to spurs off its main pipeline. That up-front investment suggests GTN expects Amazon will use those gas pipelines for an extended period.

Power lines to supply Amazon data centers have been a contentious issue in Morrow County, where farmers and other property owners have objected to having the lines cross their land. Gas pipelines to Amazon’s data centers would also have to cross farms and might present some of the same issues.

The owners of the GTN pipeline, which carries natural gas from Canada obtained by fracking, is seeking to expand its capacity to transport more gas. Last summer, attorneys general in Oregon, Washington and California sought to block that expansion, citing global warming concerns.

Audrey Leonard, staff attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper, said Amazon’s plans would add to demands on the pipeline and the use of natural gas. She said that’s concerning because of the impact fracking has on the natural environment around gas drilling sites and because of natural gas’ contribution to climate change.

“This is just one more reason to oppose adding more fracked gas into the GTN pipeline,” Leonard said, “and support efforts to hold Big Tech to a clean energy standard.”

Note: This article has been updated to specify that Amazon’s fuel cells would be the primary power source for the three data centers.

Correction: This article has been corrected to note that the carbon footprint from Amazon’s fuel cells would be equivalent to a fifth of PGE’s nearby power plant, not a quarter as this article originally stated. The article has also been updated to note that Amazon says GTN would build the connections between the main gas pipeline and the data centers, not Amazon as the article originally indicated.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | 503-294-7699

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