In its pursuit of powering its ambitious AI initiatives, Meta finalized three agreements this week to secure almost 1 gigawatt of solar energy.
These three agreements increase Meta’s total solar acquisitions to more than 3 gigawatts of capacity in the current year. Given its affordability and rapid construction, solar power has emerged as the preferred energy source for tech companies as their data center infrastructure expands.
Meta revealed yesterday that it has entered into two agreements in Louisiana to purchase the environmental benefits of a total of 385 megawatts of electricity. The completion of both projects is anticipated in two years.
These agreements follow a more substantial deal revealed on Monday, in which Meta procured 600 megawatts from a large-scale solar farm located near Lubbock, Texas. This project is also scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2027.
While the power generated by the Texas plant will not be directly connected to Meta’s data centers, it will contribute to the local power grid, thereby compensating for the facilities’ energy consumption.
However, the Louisiana agreements involve the acquisition of certificates that enable Meta to counterbalance its carbon-heavy energy sources.
Experts have raised concerns about such environmental attribute certificates (EACs), sometimes referred to as renewable energy certificates, for potentially masking the actual carbon footprint of tech companies’ operations, which have surged due to the increasing electricity demands driven by AI.
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EACs were originally created at a time when renewable energy sources were expensive compared to fossil fuel-based generators. They allowed anyone to purchase electricity, but also offered companies an option to make additional payments to offset their emissions and mitigate the higher expenses associated with renewable energy. They played a role in encouraging developers to invest in more renewable energy projects.
However, the price of new solar and wind energy has significantly decreased since then, with renewables undercutting new fossil fuel energy and, in some cases, existing coal and natural gas power plants. EACs no longer offer the same level of incentive as before, and experts are questioning the extent to which they stimulate additional renewable energy production.
Experts contend that if companies genuinely wish to offset their new energy consumption resulting from AI, they should be encouraging developers to build new renewable energy capacity.
