GW Ranch marks Amazon’s first investment in a private "behind the meter" grid data center campus. In announcing state permits in January, Pacifico CEO Nate Franking said: “We’re really excited to reach this precedent-setting milestone at GW Ranch. Although Amazon maintains it has not backed off its 2019 commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, the GW Ranch gas plant could overshadow its claimed emissions-reduction accomplishments. While the Amazon GW Ranch project initially will operate separately from the Texas grid, the company says the system is designed to transition to grid-connected service and potentially add supply “as interconnection timelines allow.” The campus is located about 30 miles from an off-grid data center complex being developed by Chevron and Microsoft.