Meta Intends To Enter Electricity Trading Business To Accelerate Energy Generation Development

Illustration of wind power plants (photo: x @MarkMillerPR)

JAKARTA - Meta is reportedly preparing to enter the electricity trading business, a step taken to accelerate the construction of new power plants needed to operate its AI-tech data center.

According to a Bloomberg report, Meta and Microsoft are currently applying for federal approval to be able to trade electric power following in the footsteps of Apple, which has already obtained the permit. With this permission, Meta can make a long-term commitment to buying electricity from new plants, but still has the flexibility to resell some of that power to wholesale electricity market if needed.

Meta's head of global energy division, Urvi Parekh, told Bloomberg that power generation developers want to see the real commitments of big tech companies.

"They want to know that energy consumers are really willing to take part in the risk," Parekh said. "Without Meta taking a more active role in accelerating the addition of electricity supply to the system, the process won't go as quickly as we wanted."

This step is a real example of the high energy demand to support the expansion of the technology giant AI data center. Bloomberg notes that at least three new gas-fueled power plants should be built just to supply the Meta data center campus in Louisiana.

With the increasing power needs due to AI developments and large-scale computing, tech companies like Meta no longer appear to be just electric consumers but will also play an active player in the energy industry.