Meta Leaves RE100 Amid 7.5-GW Louisiana Gas Buildout for AI

Meta has left RE100, ending a membership that began in 2016, as the company finances gigawatts of new natural gas generation for its AI data centers. Meta confirmed the departure to TechCrunch on July 23 and called it mutual, but did not explain the decision. Entergy plans 10 Louisiana gas plants with about 7.5 gigawatts of combined capacity to support Meta’s Hyperion campus and the wider grid, with a commission decision scheduled for December 16, 2026.

Meta Leaves RE100 Amid 7.5-GW Louisiana Gas Buildout for AI - Meta confirmed that it is no longer an RE100 member, describing the split as mutual but declining to explain it. 1 https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/23/meta-drops-out-of-a-major-clean-energy-pact-as-its-natural-gas-buildout-accelerates/ - Entergy plans 10 Louisiana gas plants with about 7.5 gigawatts of combined capacity to support Meta’s Hyperion campus and the wider grid. 9 https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-louisiana-announces-a-new-agreement-with-meta-that-will-deliver-an-additional-2b-in-customer-savings 10 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1427437/000006598426000222/etr-20260331.htm - Meta says it will continue matching 100% of its annual electricity use with clean and renewable energy. Its website says Meta-supported wind and solar projects are adding almost 29 GW globally. 7 https://sustainability.atmeta.com/2025-sustainability-report/ - The seven additional Louisiana plants remain under regulatory review, with a commission decision scheduled for December 16, 2026. 15 https://lpscpubvalence.lpsc.louisiana.gov/portal/PSC/ViewFile?fileId=vuPR4bwXjsw%3D Meta has left RE100, ending a membership that began in 2016 as the company finances gigawatts of new natural gas generation for its artificial intelligence data centers. Meta confirmed the departure to TechCrunch on July 23 and called it mutual, but did not explain the decision. 1 https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/23/meta-drops-out-of-a-major-clean-energy-pact-as-its-natural-gas-buildout-accelerates/ 2 https://www.rechargenews.com/corporate-power/exclusive-meta-thrown-off-key-global-clean-energy-scheme-over-gas-spree/2-1-2019180 The Climate Group’s current RE100 directory no longer includes Meta. Apple, Google and Microsoft remain members. Participating companies commit to renewable electricity across their global operations, report progress annually through CDP and have their claims checked against RE100’s technical criteria. 3 https://www.theclimategroup.org/re100/members 4 https://www.theclimategroup.org/re100/memberships The exit ends RE100’s review of Meta’s renewable claims RE100 membership does not require a company’s facilities to consume renewable electricity every hour. Its accounting rules recognize several procurement methods, including power-purchase agreements and energy attribute certificates purchased separately from the underlying electricity. Natural gas and nuclear generation do not qualify as renewable under RE100’s criteria. 5 https://www.theclimategroup.org/hubfs/RE100/PDFs/RE100%20technical%20criteria%20%2B%20appendices%20%2815%20April%202025%29.pdf Membership does provide standardized annual review and public reporting. Updated July 2026 guidance says RE100 will publish the percentage of each member’s renewable-electricity progress that it recognizes, along with a claim-quality measure identifying missing information, excess procurement and claims that cannot be validated. 6 https://www.theclimategroup.org/hubfs/RE100/RE100%20Technical%20and%20FAQ/RE100%20Accountability%20Guidance%202026.pdf Accounts of the separation differ. Recharge, which first reported the departure, characterized Meta as having been removed over its turn to gas and cited initiative officials. Meta told TechCrunch the decision was mutual. Neither Meta nor the Climate Group has issued a public explanation detailed enough to establish whether the new reporting rules or Meta’s gas projects prompted the exit. 1 https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/23/meta-drops-out-of-a-major-clean-energy-pact-as-its-natural-gas-buildout-accelerates/ 2 https://www.rechargenews.com/corporate-power/exclusive-meta-thrown-off-key-global-clean-energy-scheme-over-gas-spree/2-1-2019180 Meta said it remains committed to matching its data-center electricity consumption with 100% clean and renewable energy. Its sustainability website says Meta-supported wind and solar projects are adding almost 29 GW to grids globally. The company also retains goals to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions 42% from a 2021 baseline by 2031 and achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain in 2030. 7 https://sustainability.atmeta.com/2025-sustainability-report/ Meta’s latest full sustainability report, covering 2024, listed net emissions of 8.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent after contractual instruments were applied, compared with location-based emissions of 15.6 million metric tons. Scope 3 sources, principally its supply chain, represented 99% of the net total. 8 https://sustainability.atmeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Meta 2025-Sustainability-Report.pdf Gas generation is becoming part of Meta’s AI infrastructure The largest expansion is tied to Hyperion, Meta’s AI campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Three gas plants approved in 2025 are expected to provide about 2.25 GW. Entergy filed in March for seven more combined-cycle plants totaling 5.28 GW at an estimated cost of $12.9 billion, bringing the proposed Louisiana gas fleet to roughly 7.5 GW. 9 https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-louisiana-announces-a-new-agreement-with-meta-that-will-deliver-an-additional-2b-in-customer-savings 10 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1427437/000006598426000222/etr-20260331.htm The second agreement also includes battery storage at three locations, nuclear uprates, about 240 miles of transmission and a Meta commitment to help fund up to 2.5 GW of renewable generation. Entergy estimates the agreement will save other customers about $2 billion over 20 years, in addition to $650 million of benefits it projected under the first deal. Those savings are company projections that remain contingent on regulatory approval, demand and contract performance. 9 https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-louisiana-announces-a-new-agreement-with-meta-that-will-deliver-an-additional-2b-in-customer-savings In Ohio, Williams is developing two Socrates gas-fired facilities with a combined committed capacity of 400 MW. Williams does not identify the customer on its project page, but a March letter from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to Meta identifies the 400-MW Socrates project as serving the company’s Ohio data-center plans. Counting those two facilities and the 10 Louisiana plants, Meta-linked projects encompass at least 12 planned gas plants and nearly 8 GW of capacity. 11 https://www.williams.com/expansion-project/socrates-power-solution-facilities/ 12 https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/ cache/files/b/a/ba3b19aa-25f5-48e6-8522-3b8085a597b2/CB05A6BE1D680998DC41351054391E7915B2D726067B9BAE77B8D9D7CC892FF8.letter-to-meta.pdf Annual renewable-energy matching does not prevent those plants from producing emissions where and when they operate. TechCrunch estimated that the 7.5-GW Louisiana fleet could emit 12.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, based on Department of Energy data. The figure is a publisher calculation rather than an Entergy forecast, and actual emissions will depend on plant utilization, efficiency and final project configuration. It also excludes upstream methane leakage. 13 https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/metas-natural-gas-binge-could-power-south-dakota/ Regulators face competing claims over costs and pollution The Union of Concerned Scientists criticized Louisiana regulators for adopting an accelerated schedule for the seven-plant application, arguing that the process could expose customers to long-lived costs if demand forecasts or contractual protections fail. Entergy says Meta will pay the infrastructure’s full cost of service and that the added capacity will support broader grid reliability and economic growth. 14 https://www.ucs.org/about/news/louisiana-regulators-fast-track-7-gas-plant-proposal-meta-data-center 9 https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-louisiana-announces-a-new-agreement-with-meta-that-will-deliver-an-additional-2b-in-customer-savings Whitehouse separately asked Meta to explain how planned gas generation in Ohio and Texas fits its climate targets. His letter cited expected greenhouse-gas emissions and local pollutants including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon monoxide. 12 https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/ cache/files/b/a/ba3b19aa-25f5-48e6-8522-3b8085a597b2/CB05A6BE1D680998DC41351054391E7915B2D726067B9BAE77B8D9D7CC892FF8.letter-to-meta.pdf The dispute has also moved into discovery. The Union of Concerned Scientists said a Louisiana administrative law judge ordered Meta on July 10 to provide evidence supporting its projected electricity demand, investment and permanent job count for the Hyperion expansion. Meta was given until July 20 to respond; a definitive public account of that response was not located before publication. 17 https://www.ucs.org/about/news/judge-orders-meta-explain-new-gas-demand-hyperscale-louisiana-data-center Meta has emphasized local economic benefits. The company says its expanded Richland Parish investment will exceed $50 billion, provide more than 1,000 jobs once operational and fund roads, water systems, scholarships and other community programs. Those figures are Meta’s projections, not independently validated outcomes. 16 https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/teachers-local-businesses-win-as-meta-expands-louisiana-data-center/ LPSC docket U-37882 remains open. The commission has scheduled consideration of Entergy’s application for December 16, 2026, after compilation of an evidentiary record but without a formal recommendation from the presiding administrative law judge. 15 https://lpscpubvalence.lpsc.louisiana.gov/portal/PSC/ViewFile?fileId=vuPR4bwXjsw%3D Companies mentioned Further sources 1 TechCrunch, “Meta drops out of a major clean energy pact as its natural gas bui… ↗ https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/23/meta-drops-out-of-a-major-clean-energy-pact-as-its-natural-gas-buildout-accelerates/ 2 Recharge, “Meta thrown off key global clean energy scheme over gas spree,” July… ↗ https://www.rechargenews.com/corporate-power/exclusive-meta-thrown-off-key-global-clean-energy-scheme-over-gas-spree/2-1-2019180 3 Climate Group, current RE100 member directory, accessed July 24, 2026. ↗ https://www.theclimategroup.org/re100/members 4 Climate Group, RE100 membership commitments and reporting requirements, accesse… ↗ https://www.theclimategroup.org/re100/memberships 5 RE100 Technical Criteria, published March 24, 2025. ↗ https://www.theclimategroup.org/hubfs/RE100/PDFs/RE100%20technical%20criteria%20%2B%20appendices%20%2815%20April%202025%29.pdf 6 RE100, “How RE100 members are held to account,” updated July 2026. ↗ https://www.theclimategroup.org/hubfs/RE100/RE100%20Technical%20and%20FAQ/RE100%20Accountability%20Guidance%202026.pdf +11 more The stories that matter, in one email. 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