Meta Quits RE100, Funds 10 Gas Plants for AI Data Centers
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- Meta quit RE100, the global corporate initiative whose members pledge 100% renewable electricity, a split first reported by Recharge on July 23; Meta had joined in 2016 as Facebook and claimed in 2021 to have hit its target using renewable energy certificates (RECs) and power purchase agreements (PPAs).
- At its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta is now funding 10 combined-cycle gas plants totaling roughly 7.5 GW — an original three-plant, ~2.26 GW buildout expanded by a March 2026 Entergy Louisiana deal adding seven more plants exceeding 5.2 GW.
- Meta is also tied to a 200 MW behind-the-meter gas project in Ohio announced in June 2025, and says gas is 'necessary' where utilities cannot meet its AI power needs while seeking certificates for lower-methane gas.
- Rivals Apple, Google, and Microsoft remain on RE100's 444-company roster, though Google agreed to buy power from a 400 MW Illinois gas plant with carbon capture and Microsoft signed a 20-year deal for a 2.67 GW gas plant at its West Texas data center.
- The New York Times reported that no insurers would provide full coverage for Hyperion because the facility was so large and was being built in a flood plain.
- Meta counters that it still matches 100% of annual electricity use with 'clean and renewable energy,' has supported more than 30 GW of wind, solar, battery, nuclear, and geothermal projects, and that its Entergy package includes funding for up to 2.5 GW of renewables.
Why it matters: Meta's exit from RE100 turns '100% renewable' into an annual accounting match that leaves gas plants running around the clock to serve AI data centers — a path Apple, Google, and Microsoft have so far declined to take while remaining on the 444-company pledge, leaving Meta to absorb the reputational risk alone.
