AI data centers guzzle power at a wild pace, and most of them keep reaching for gas instead of clean energy. A startup called Firma Power thinks it has figured out why, and it isn’t about cost or reliability (via Fast Company).
The real problem is that data centers struggle to piece together enough clean power from a scattered mess of wind, solar, and battery projects. This is why Firma built software that can change how these massive facilities get access to power.
Why are AI data centers still turning to gas?
Facebook data center Meta
A typical data center used to need around 50 megawatts, but AI facilities now demand 500 megawatts or more. That’s roughly the amount of power a city like San Francisco uses. The good news is that clean power isn’t scarce, since the U.S. is about to add a record 86 gigawatts of new wind, solar, and battery capacity this year.
Firma cofounder Jesse Jenkins says almost everything sitting in that pipeline right now is wind, solar, or storage, yet somehow gas still wins by default. The problem is that many of those projects get stalled because developers can’t find buyers or get tangled up in grid and permit issues.
This is why developers need multiple clean energy projects working together, instead of relying on just one source. Firma’s software calculates the capacity needed and identifies clean-energy projects that could provide it. Its platform, FirmaOS, looks for proposed projects and matches them to a data center’s needs in minutes instead of months.
How Firma speedruns clean energy paperwork for data centers
Once Firma finds the right mix, the company negotiates with developers and hands the customer one contract instead of several messy ones. Firma says this can bring power online faster and at a competitive cost compared with gas plants.
This approach also helps in connecting clean-energy developers with buyers needed to support such projects. The process wraps up in days, while waiting on a new gas plant or a utility’s planning cycle can take years.
Quang Nguyen Vinh / Pexels
Founded by energy experts Jesse Jenkins, Scott Burger, and Brent Alderfer, the startup has raised about $1.4 million in February 2026. It’s now working on roughly a dozen projects with hyperscalers and AI cloud companies.
The startup estimates that just three grids alone could add 200 gigawatts of clean energy by 2030, which is more than what the entire country needs. If Firma’s approach catches on, AI-powered apps might run entirely on clean energy in the future.
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