Meta signed three offers this week to acquire almost 1 gigawatt of solar energy because it races to energy its lofty AI ambitions.
The trio of agreements brings Meta’s complete photo voltaic purchases to over 3 gigawatts of capability this yr. Photo voltaic is affordable and fast to construct, and in consequence, it has develop into a go-to energy supply for tech corporations as their information heart fleets multiply in dimension.
Meta yesterday introduced two agreements in Louisiana that see it shopping for the environmental attributes of a mixed 385 megawatts of electrical energy. Each tasks are anticipated to be accomplished two years from now.
They comply with on the heels of a bigger deal introduced Monday wherein Meta purchased 600 megawatts from an enormous photo voltaic farm close to Lubbock, Texas. The venture can even begin industrial operations in 2027.
Whereas the Texas energy plant received’t join on to Meta information facilities, it’s going to feed into the native grid, offsetting use by the amenities.
The Louisiana offers, although, contain buying of certificates that permit Meta to offset its carbon-intensive sources of energy.
Such environmental attribute certificates (EACs), typically referred to as renewable power certificates, have been criticized by consultants for obscuring the true carbon footprint of tech corporations’ operations, which have ballooned as AI has pushed up electrical energy use.
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EACs have been launched years in the past when renewables have been pricey relative to fossil gas mills. They let anybody purchase the electrical energy, but additionally gave corporations an choice to pay additional to offset their very own emissions — and offset the upper prices of renewable energy. They helped encourage builders to construct extra renewable tasks.
However the price of new photo voltaic and wind has dropped dramatically since then, with renewables undercutting new fossil energy and typically present coal and pure gasoline energy crops. EACs don’t present the identical incentive as earlier than, and consultants query how a lot extra renewable energy they stimulate.
If corporations really need to offset their new power use from AI, they need to be encouraging builders to construct new renewable capability, consultants argue.