Meta exits RE100 renewable energy pact, turns to natural gas for AI data centers

Technology giant Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — has exited a clean energy pact it had been a signatory to for over a decade, following a natural gas-powered push for its hyperscale data centers.

The company's departure from RE100, a corporate renewable energy initiative, was revealed late last week by Recharge News. The initiative was launched by The Climate Group, a non-profit organization founded by former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Despite Meta's exit, other major tech rivals — including Apple, Google, and Microsoft — remain among the initiative's more than 400 signatories. Amazon, another competitor, is not a member of RE100. While confirming the move was "amicable," a Meta spokesperson declined further comment.

Renewables Can't Keep Pace

Meta requires reliable power sources for the data centers central to its artificial intelligence development and expansion plans.

Although the company continues its renewable energy partnerships for wind and solar power, it is also turning to natural gas-fired power sources in the U.S., as renewables cannot keep pace with its near-term demand projections.

Recent developments include Meta's backing of ten natural gas power plants in Louisiana capable of generating 7.5 gigawatts of electricity. This follows a 200-megawatt facility in Ohio that Meta supported in June 2025.

Meta is not alone in turning to natural gas. Both Google and Microsoft have also invested in power sourced from fossil fuels. However, Meta's commitments significantly exceed those of its rivals in terms of wattage.

As AI development evolves into a multibillion-dollar industry, deployments accelerate, and the hyperscale data centers required for this activity continue to grow exponentially, the tension between Big Tech's headline growth and clean energy commitments continues to intensify.

End of Decade Scenarios

Many technology firms have signed long-term power purchase agreements with utilities and suppliers. These contracts are underpinned by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

However, with power demand for data centers projected to grow between 10% and 15% per year through 2030 — if not more, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights — additional power sourced from natural gas-fired plants is increasingly coming into view, both within the U.S. and elsewhere.

Meta's predicament and response serve as a clear example. In the company's 2025 sustainability report, Meta stated it will continue matching 100% of its annual electricity use with clean and renewable energy.

To date, Meta-supported wind and solar projects total nearly 30 GW in the U.S. and other global markets where it operates. Yet, with the AI sector experiencing a super-cycle of sorts — and in a world where a single ChatGPT query requires 2.9 Wh of electricity, compared with 0.3 Wh for a routine Google search (nearly ten times as much) — Meta and its competitors are reactively doing what they must as energy-intensive businesses.

And it is not just natural gas. Even coal could be a beneficiary, according to the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based think tank recently forecast that demand from data centers remains a significant near-term driver of growth for natural gas-fired and other power sources.