Meta drops out of a major clean energy pact as its natural gas buildout accelerates
News Source
β’Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:41:54 +0000
π° What Happened
Meta has left the RE100, a major corporate clean energy group, after being a member for ten years. The company has funded at least a dozen new natural gas power plants in the past year. One of these plants will burn enough gas to power the whole state of South Dakota.
Both Meta and RE100 say the split was mutual. But it comes after RE100 tightened its rules on reporting renewable energy progress. Meta had promised to run all its operations on renewable electricity by 2020, but it did not keep that promise.
The company is building more gas plants to power its AI data centers. AI needs huge amounts of electricity. While Meta still buys some renewable energy, it has turned to fossil fuels more than most of its competitors like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
π The Backstory
RE100 was started by the Climate Group, a nonprofit co-founded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. It helps companies set goals to get all their energy from renewable sources. More than 440 companies, including Apple and Google, are still members.
Big tech companies have been some of the biggest buyers of renewable energy for years. They built solar and wind farms to power their data centers. This helped grow the clean energy industry and brought down costs for everyone.
But AI changed everything. AI data centers use vastly more power than regular cloud computing. Companies like Meta are now struggling to find enough clean energy. Natural gas is cheaper and easier to build quickly. This has created a tension between tech companies' climate promises and their AI ambitions.
π― Why It Matters
If big tech companies give up on clean energy for AI, it could slow the fight against climate change. The choices Meta makes affect the whole planet.
Meta has left the RE100, a major corporate clean energy group, after being a member for ten years. The company has funded at least a dozen new natural gas power plants in the past year. One of these plants will burn enough gas to power the whole state of South Dakota.
Both Meta and RE100 say the split was mutual. But it comes after RE100 tightened its rules on reporting renewable energy progress. Meta had promised to run all its operations on renewable electricity by 2020, but it did not keep that promise.
The company is building more gas plants to power its AI data centers. AI needs huge amounts of electricity. While Meta still buys some renewable energy, it has turned to fossil fuels more than most of its competitors like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
RE100 was started by the Climate Group, a nonprofit co-founded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. It helps companies set goals to get all their energy from renewable sources. More than 440 companies, including Apple and Google, are still members.
Big tech companies have been some of the biggest buyers of renewable energy for years. They built solar and wind farms to power their data centers. This helped grow the clean energy industry and brought down costs for everyone.
But AI changed everything. AI data centers use vastly more power than regular cloud computing. Companies like Meta are now struggling to find enough clean energy. Natural gas is cheaper and easier to build quickly. This has created a tension between tech companies' climate promises and their AI ambitions.
If big tech companies give up on clean energy for AI, it could slow the fight against climate change. The choices Meta makes affect the whole planet.