To accelerate the construction of new power plants needed to provide energy for its data centers, Meta is considering getting into the power trading business.
Bloomberg report Meta and Microsoft are both seeking federal approval for electricity trading (Apple has already received this approval). According to Meta, this will allow it to make long-term commitments to purchase power from new plants, while reducing risk by having the ability to resell some of that power in wholesale electricity markets.
Urvi Parekh, global head of Meta, told Bloomberg that power plant developers “want to know that electricity consumers are willing to get in the game.”
“Without Meta taking a more active voice on the need to expand the amount of electricity present on the system, this is not happening as quickly as we would like,” Parekh said.
As an example of the unprecedented energy needs inherent in tech companies’ ambitious AI data center plans, Bloomberg noted that at least three new gas-powered plants would need to be built to power Meta’s Louisiana data center campus.
