Meta exits RE100 after funding gas plants to power AI
Business
Meta (the folks behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) just left RE100, the global group where companies promise to use only renewable electricity.
The move comes after a year of Meta pouring money into natural gas plants to keep its AI data centers running.
Meta plans 10 Louisiana gas plants
Meta has announced plans to build 10 new natural gas power plants in Louisiana, enough juice to outpace all of South Dakota's yearly electricity use.
While Meta says it still meets green goals by buying certificates that offset fossil fuel use, critics are worried about pollution from these plants.
Unlike Google and Microsoft, which are going big on battery-backed renewables, Meta is betting hard on gas, even as clean energy standards get stricter.