Meta — the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more — drew significant criticism recently over a move that some critics have categorized as hypocritical.
Just one day after vowing to work to install nuclear mini plants on facility sites to help reduce the company's carbon pollution from its electricity needs, the tech giants announced their largest-ever data center powered by dirty energy, according to The Register. Making matters worse, the construction of the center is directly in line with the time frame Meta provided for its plans to pivot power for its data centers to nuclear energy.
The new facility will be powered by three natural gas-powered turbines to produce 2,262 megawatts of energy, a colossal amount of power that will require a colossal supply of natural gas to produce. Energy services company Entergy said the facilities would be able to operate at up to 30% hydrogen co-fired to reduce carbon pollution and that it could upgrade the facilities to renewable power in the future, but that was not presented as a commitment, and it was unclear whether Meta was planning to maximize hydrogen usage in the meantime or whether it would source that hydrogen through renewable-powered electrolysis.
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Given that natural gas is one of the primary producers of planet-warming carbon pollution, this move drew ire from a number of groups, most notably the Southern Renewable Energy Association.
"SREA is concerned about the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions these three new gas plants will produce, and the unproven nature of the technology Entergy is proposing to install 'in the future' to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions that will be produced by these gas power plants," regulations director Whit Cox said.
The amount and type of power used by big tech companies has come under increasing scrutiny recently. Google's new data center in Malaysia is expected to face strict regulations about where its power can come from, while the company's proposed facility in Uruguay has drawn substantial blowback from the local populace. Amazon hasn't been immune either, as its claim to have reached its renewable energy goal was deemed misleading by environmental groups.
Commenters in the r/energy subreddit were quick to call out Meta for the perceived hypocrisy.
"Lol. Now that is a dirty trick," one said.
"This has been the very very very obvious motivation behind a the nuclear for AI hype the entire time," another replied. "It's not even really a trick, Russians have a word for it. 'Vranyo': A lie so obvious and stupid that the intent behind it is to insult the listener and demonstrate the power of the speaker over them."
"My son worked at Meta and looked into joining the team to make the company green," said a third. "He determined it was a joke and the company had no intention of being green."
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