OpenAI’s colossal AI data center targets would consume as much electricity as entire nation of India — 250GW target would require 30 million GPUs annually to ensure continuous operation, emit twice as much carbon dioxide as ExxonMobil

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman released an internal memo last September 2025, stating that he plans to build up to 250 gigawatts of compute capacity by 2033. According to Truthdig, this is equivalent to the electricity required to power the entire nation of India and its 1.5 billion citizens. It would also emit twice the carbon dioxide that ExxonMobil produces, which the report says is the current “largest non-state carbon emitter” in the world.

Aside from carbon emissions from its data centers, the writer,…