Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has confirmed its exit from the RE100 clean energy initiative, a decade after joining the global corporate renewable energy group. The departure comes as the tech giant significantly ramps up its investment in natural gas infrastructure to meet the escalating power demands of its artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
Over the past year, Meta has funded the construction of at least twelve natural gas power plants across the United States. Notable projects include a 200-megawatt plant in Ohio announced in June 2025, and a series of ten large natural gas power plants in Louisiana. The Louisiana facilities alone are projected to generate 7.5 gigawatts of electricity, a substantial amount equivalent to the power consumption of a US state like South Dakota.
RE100, a project led by the UK-headquartered non-profit Climate Group, provides support to companies committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy. Meta's competitors, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, remain members of the initiative. While neither Meta nor the Climate Group commented directly on the reasons for the departure, RE100 recently updated its guidelines to enforce more rigorous reporting standards on renewable energy progress. Meta had previously stated its aim to power its entire operations with renewable electricity by 2020.
The increasing energy needs of AI operations have driven many tech firms to seek vast power supplies. Although Meta states it remains committed to matching its data centre electricity usage with 100% clean and renewable energy, its substantial embrace of natural gas raises questions about the definition of 'clean energy' within its strategy. Natural gas, while burning more cleanly than coal, still produces significant pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide, which contribute to various health issues.
Companies can currently claim 100% renewable status by purchasing environmental attribute certificates, allowing them to offset fossil fuel use in one location with renewable energy generation elsewhere. However, some industry leaders, such as Microsoft, are moving towards more stringent hourly matching of electricity use, encouraging direct investment in renewable projects paired with battery storage rather than fossil fuel plants.