AI Race Trumps Ecology: Meta Leaves RE100 Alliance

Meta Corporation, one of the world's tech giants, has left the international climate alliance RE100 after 10 years of partnership. This decision is driven by the company's plans to build massive data centers to develop artificial intelligence (AI) systems and power them using traditional gas-fired power plants. This situation has once again brought the conflict between technological progress and environmental sustainability to the forefront. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

Founded by the Climate Group, the RE100 initiative requires its members to source 100% of their consumed electricity from renewable energy sources (RES). However, Meta's project to build a massive AI data center named Hyperion in Louisiana, valued at over $200 billion, contradicted these requirements. The project envisions building 10 gas power plants to power the complex.

Energy shortage and gas projects

According to ixbt.com, Meta requires over 7 GW of power for the Hyperion project alone. Additionally, the company has signed an agreement to build a separate 200 MW gas power plant in Ohio. It is emphasized that meeting such colossal energy demands solely through solar or wind power plants is extremely complex and costly under current technological conditions.

Meta representatives have claimed since 2021 that their operations are powered entirely by green energy. To achieve this, the company utilizes special environmental certificates. Under this system, the company finances the generation of renewable energy in other regions equivalent to the amount of traditional energy it consumes. However, Climate Group experts stated that due to the scale of the new gas projects, the company no longer meets RE100 criteria.

According to analysts, the computing power required to train and run AI models is growing exponentially. This forces not only Meta, but other IT giants like Google and Microsoft as well, to reconsider their environmental pledges. Renewable energy sources cannot yet fully guarantee the stable and continuous operation of AI infrastructure.

Currently, Meta insists it will continue to cover all its energy consumption through certificates. However, experts have criticized this approach. Purchasing certificates does not change the actual source powering a specific facility; it is merely a financial compensation mechanism. The direct construction of gas power plants will undoubtedly increase carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

This event is also an important signal for countries like Uzbekistan that are developing their digital economy and green energy in parallel. Finding sustainable energy sources for large data centers to be built in our country in the future will become a strategic task. As seen in Meta's example, even the wealthiest corporations often prefer technological superiority when faced with a choice between it and environmental cleanliness.