Natural Gas and Microgrids: Powering the Data Center Surge

March 11, 2025

By Pooya Kabiri, Founder and CEO of METIS Power

Data centers are the silent giants of our digital age. They power AI models churning out breakthroughs, cloud apps keeping businesses afloat, streaming services feeding our binge habits—pretty much everything online. But here’s the kicker: they’re devouring electricity at a wild pace. The latest Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) report drops a bombshell: 176 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023—4.4% of U.S. power—could skyrocket to 580 TWh by 2028, a potential 12% slice of the national pie.

That tripling happens in five years. AI’s relentless hunger, cloud expansion, and our hyper-connected lives are driving it. Meanwhile, the grid gasps—overloaded lines, interconnection queues stretching three to five years, and blackouts looming as risks. How do we keep these tech behemoths online? I’ve been diving deep, and two answers keep bubbling up: natural gas and microgrids with behind-the-meter (BTM) generation. Here’s the full rundown.

Natural Gas Keeps It Steady

Natural gas is not the flashy newcomer—it is the seasoned pro. It fuels nearly 40% of U.S. electricity today, and for data centers obsessed with 99.999% uptime, that dependability is a lifeline. University heavyweights (like Stanford’s Precourt Institute and MIT’s Energy Initiative) spotlight its muscle in onsite setups like gas turbine and fuel cells.

Microsoft tests natural gas fuel cells to juice up Azure data centers in places like Washington state, cutting reliance on shaky utilities. Google taps it too, using gas in Nevada to keep its servers humming. Why does it work? It’s cleaner than diesel—emitting half the CO2 of coal—and packs a punch with combined heat and power (CHP). Waste heat gets recycled to cool servers, a huge deal when cooling can swallow 40% of a data center’s energy tab.

Carnegie Mellon’s 2015 study in Environmental Science and Technology argues LNG exports could trim global emissions—a nod to natural gas’ cleaner edge. In the PJM region—think Virginia’s “Data Center Alley”—their Scott Institute for Energy Innovation ties natural gas to Marcellus Shale, powering microgrids where tech hubs thrive. It’s not the eco-utopia of wind or solar, though. It is a bridge—holding the fort while hydrogen, small modular reactors, or mass renewables gear up. Right now, it is the steady hand we need.

Microgrids Flip the Script

Behind-the-meter generation flips the old playbook. Why beg the grid when you can brew your own power onsite? Microgrids take it up a notch, weaving natural gas with solar, batteries, and even small wind turbines into a self-sufficient energy quilt.

Picture this: a hyperscale data center in Ashburn, Virginia, humming along. A natural gas turbine cranks out the base load, solar arrays soak up daylight, and lithium-ion batteries smooth out the spikes. No sweating over utility upgrades, no hefty transmission fees—just raw, tailored power. UT Austin’s Energy Institute sees this lighting up Texas, where Permian Basin gas fuels microgrids for everything from oil rigs to tech hubs. Their Center for Electromechanics runs a megawatt-scale testbed, proving it is not just talk—it is tech in action.

Real-world players are all over it. Carnegie Mellon’s PJM research flags Marcellus gas as a local ace, cutting logistics and boosting resilience. In California, Equinix has piloted hybrid setups, blending gas with solar. It deploys fast—months, not years—sidesteps interconnection headaches, and keeps downtime, a data center's nightmare, off the table. Plus, it is lean: no utility middleman, no extra costs, just efficiency.

The Clean Catch

Sustainability remains the elephant in the room. Natural gas is not carbon-free—CO2’s still flows—and data center giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS) , Meta , 微软 and 谷歌 are under the gun to hit net-zero goals. Shareholders, regulators, even customers are watching. Microgrids are the secret sauce—they bend, they flex. Start with gas today, then pivot to biogas from landfills or hydrogen from green electrolysis as it scales. Crank up solar when panel prices keep tumbling, or add wind where it blows.

The LBNL report lays it out: data centers need a cocktail—efficiency hacks, onsite generation, storage—to ease the grid strain. Natural gas fits“now”, with university voices like CU Boulder’s RASEI calling it a transitional fuel. Stanford’s Precourt Institute of Energy digs into its limits, pushing for cleaner swaps down the line. Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin 's “Full Cost of Electricity” series crunches the numbers—gas holds its own on price, a big draw when budgets get tight. It’s not a lone ranger; it’s a team captain, rallying renewables and next-gen tech into formation.

Where We’re Headed

Data centers are not just server farms—they’re economic rocket fuel. AI rewrites industries, e-commerce booms, and global networks hinge on these hubs. The LBNL report warns of that 580 TWh ceiling by 2028 if growth maxes out—a 12% chunk of U.S. power no grid can conjure overnight. Natural gas and microgrids are the clutch performers—reliable now, adaptable later—backed by university smarts and boots-on-the-ground wins.

Texas and Virginia are the proving grounds. Dallas-Fort Worth’s tech sprawl leans on Permian gas; Northern Virginia’s data alley taps Marcellus. But this scales—anywhere gas flows and servers glow, it fits. Grids will evolve—transmission lines will stretch, solar costs will dip (down 80% since 2010), wind will spin faster (offshore takes off)—but that’s years out. Right now, we’re in the thick of it, and this duo keeps the digital engine roaring while we build the cleaner future.

What’s your read? Are natural gas and microgrids the MVPs we need, or should we sprint harder for the green finish line? Drop your thoughts below. If you are in energy, tech, or data center ops, let’s connect and swap notes—this ride just starts.