Close Menu
Global News HQ
    What's Hot

    How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team

    June 28, 2025

    Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests

    June 28, 2025

    Weekly Horoscope For June 30-July 6, 2025, From The AstroTwins

    June 28, 2025
    Recent Posts
    • How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team
    • Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests
    • Weekly Horoscope For June 30-July 6, 2025, From The AstroTwins
    • Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality
    • Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube TikTok
    Trending
    • How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team
    • Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests
    • Weekly Horoscope For June 30-July 6, 2025, From The AstroTwins
    • Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality
    • Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality
    • The 5 Best Stocks to Buy With $5,000 | The Motley Fool
    • Zohran Mamdani’s Win Prompted a Complete Freak-out Among NYC’s Power Brokers
    • Kenzo Spring 2026 Menswear Collection
    Global News HQ
    • Technology & Gadgets
    • Travel & Tourism (Luxury)
    • Health & Wellness (Specialized)
    • Home Improvement & Remodeling
    • Luxury Goods & Services
    • Home
    • Finance & Investment
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Real Estate
    • More
      • Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
      • E-commerce & Retail
      • Business & Entrepreneurship
      • Automotive (Car Deals & Maintenance)
    Global News HQ
    Home - Technology & Gadgets - Meta faces Democratic probe into plans to power a giant data center with gas
    Technology & Gadgets

    Meta faces Democratic probe into plans to power a giant data center with gas

    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp VKontakte Email
    Meta faces Democratic probe into plans to power a giant data center with gas
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email


    Meta’s building a new AI data center so massive in Louisiana that the local utility company has plans to construct three new gas-fired power plants to provide it with enough electricity. Now, advocates and lawmakers are pressing Meta for answers about how it’ll clean up pollution stemming from the data center’s energy consumption.

    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, shot off a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday demanding answers about how much energy the data center would use and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be generated. Powering the new data center with gas “flies in the face of Meta’s climate commitments,” the letter says.

    Tech companies are rushing to build out data centers to train and run new AI tools, driving up electricity demand. In this case, power utility Entergy wants to meet that demand with new gas infrastructure, raising concerns about the impact Meta’s data center will have on the environment and local residents.

    “We urgently need corporate responsibility”

    “Meta’s backslide from its own climate pledges risks triggering broader economic harm at a time when we urgently need corporate responsibility,” Sen. Whitehouse said in a statement emailed to The Verge.

    In 2020, Meta pledged to reach net-zero emissions across its operations, supply chain, and consumer use of its products by the end of the decade. But the company’s carbon footprint is larger now than it was when it set that goal, according to its latest sustainability report, as it doubles down on AI.

    The company has tried to reduce its emissions by matching its electricity use with equal purchases of renewable energy. It’s a strategy Meta and other big companies often take: pay to support new clean energy projects to try to cancel out the environmental effects of your facilities plugging into a power grid that runs on dirty energy. Environmental advocates are increasingly concerned that this strategy still burdens communities with local pollution, and that the pressure to meet rising electricity demand from AI is boosting fossil fuel use rather than renewable energy.

    We’re seeing that tussle play out in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where Meta has plans to build its largest data center to date. It’s spending $10 billion on the project, the company announced in December. Once complete, the campus would span 4 million square feet, about as large as 70 football fields. But the project is moot unless Meta can ensure there will be enough electricity available for all those servers, a problem it’s working with Entergy to solve. Entergy proposed building three entirely new gas plants with a total capacity of 2,260 megawatts to support the data center, but it has to get regulatory approval first.

    Some advocates contend that there hasn’t been enough transparency around Meta’s data center plans to help the public understand the potential impact on the local power grid. The New Orleans-based Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed a motion in March asking the Louisiana Public Service Commission to add Meta as an official party to proceedings over whether to approve construction of the new gas plants. Doing so would compel the company to disclose more information, and the commission is scheduled to consider the motion on Monday.

    “It’s hard to wrap your brain around [whether] a facility like this either might be good for your community or bad for your community without understanding the possible impact to your electrical system, your bills, and your water,” says Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy.

    There are already forecasts that rapidly growing data center electricity demand could raise electricity bills in the US. Meta said in December that it would contribute $1 million a year to an Entergy program that helps older adults and people with disabilities afford their bills. Data centers have also been notorious water-guzzlers, although Meta says it would invest in projects to restore more water than it would consume.

    Sen. Whitehouse’s letter, meanwhile, asks Meta to answer a list of questions by May 28th. On top of questions about the data center’s electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions, Whitehouse wants to know what the justification is for building gas-fired power plants rather than renewable energy alternatives. And it presses Meta to explain how the proposal aligns with its 2030 climate goal.

    Meta maintains that it’ll continue matching its electricity use with support for renewable energy, including a commitment to help fund 1,500 megawatts of new solar and battery resources in Louisiana. It also said it would help fund the cost of adding technology to at least one power plant that would capture carbon dioxide emissions. Whitehouse wants to know how much funding it will provide and how much carbon will be captured. Carbon capture tech has been prohibitively expensive to deploy and costs are often offset by using the captured CO2 to produce more fossil fuels through a process called enhanced oil recovery.

    “We received the letter and look forward to providing a response,” Meta spokesperson Ashley Settle said in an email to The Verge. “We believe a diverse set of energy solutions are necessary to power our AI ambitions – and we continue to explore innovative technology solutions.”

    Entergy didn’t immediately respond to inquiries from The Verge. It has a goal of making sure that 50 percent of its generating capacity is carbon pollution-free by 2030. But the utility said that gas “is the lowest reasonable cost option available that can support the 24/7 electrical demands of a large data center like Meta,” in a statement to Fast Company, which first reported on Whitehouse’s letter.



    Source link

    Climate energy environment Meta News science tech
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
    Previous ArticleHow I Scaled from Side Hustle to 7 Figures Using 4 AI Tools (No Tech Skills Needed) | Entrepreneur
    Next Article Bitcoin stalls near record highs amid derivative pressures but breakout potential remains

    Related Posts

    Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality

    June 28, 2025

    Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality

    June 28, 2025

    Baglietto and Meyer Davis Just Teamed up on a Sleek 183-Foot Superyacht

    June 28, 2025

    This Award-Winning Gin Brand Just Dropped a New Berry-Infused Expression

    June 28, 2025
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    ads
    Don't Miss
    Business & Entrepreneurship
    1 Min Read

    How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team

    Give your team the authority—and responsibility—to make decisions. Source link

    Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests

    June 28, 2025

    Weekly Horoscope For June 30-July 6, 2025, From The AstroTwins

    June 28, 2025

    Asus’s new BTF GPUs can now be used in standard systems courtesy of a detachable 1000W power connector — New 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models have a dual personality

    June 28, 2025
    Top
    Business & Entrepreneurship
    1 Min Read

    How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team

    Give your team the authority—and responsibility—to make decisions. Source link

    Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests

    June 28, 2025

    Weekly Horoscope For June 30-July 6, 2025, From The AstroTwins

    June 28, 2025
    Our Picks
    Business & Entrepreneurship
    1 Min Read

    How to Master Leadership and Prevent ‘Owner Bottleneck’ From Hindering Your Team

    Give your team the authority—and responsibility—to make decisions. Source link

    Home Improvement & Remodeling
    5 Mins Read

    Don’t Toss Old Cardboard! 5 Ways to Reuse It in Your Garden for Better Soil and Fewer Pests

    Key Points Cardboard is a great gardening tool because it’s biodegradable. It improves soil health…

    Pages
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Disclaimer
    • Homepage
    • Privacy Policy
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube TikTok
    • Home
    © 2025 Global News HQ .

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Go to mobile version