Thousands of new fossil-fuel power sources are quietly firing up across the state to power the AI boom, thanks to a regulatory loophole, leaving residents feeling blindsided.

Permits reviewed by Floodlight show that nine of them combined could emit more than 130 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 35 coal-fired power plants, according to an Environmental Protection Agency calculator.

Archived copy of the article