In Louisiana, a new Meta -Data Center, to build a large scale that the local utility company plans to build three new gas -powered power plants to provide it with enough electricity. Now, advocates and lawmakers are pressing Meta to respond to how this data center will clear the pollution caused by energy consumption.
The Senate Committee for Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Sen, Sheldon White House (D-R) launched a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, demanding how much energy the data center would use and greenhouse gas emissions would be created. The letter states that the new data center with gas is strengthened “Flying against the promise of climate climate.”
Tech companies are hurrying to create data centers to train and run new AI tools, increasing power demand. In this case, the power utility intergain wants to meet the demand with a new gas infrastructure, which will raise concerns about the MATA data center environment and the impact on local residents.
“We need a corporate responsibility immediately”
“From the back of its climate, the San White House promises that when we need a corporate responsibility immediately, there is a risk of risk -affecting widespread economic loss,” the San White House said in a statement. Stuffy.
In 2020, Meta promised to reach pure zero emissions by the end of the decade to use its work, supply chain, and consumer use. But the company’s carbon footprint is now much larger than when it determined the purpose, according to its latest stability report, when it doubles on AI.
The company has tried to reduce its emission by matching its electricity use with equal purchase of renewable energy. This is a strategy that meta and other major companies often take: Pay to support new clean energy projects to try to cancel the environmental impact of your facilities that includes the power grid that runs on dirty energy. Environmental supporters are rapidly concerned that this strategy still burdenses the communities with local pollution, and that the pressure to meet the increasing demand for electricity from AI is increasing the use of fossil fuel instead of renewable energy.
We are seeing that the game of Tille is coming to an end in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where Meta plans to build its largest data center to this day. The company announced in December that it was spending $ 10 billion on the project. Once completed, the campus will have a distance of 4 million square feet, with about 70 70 football fields. But the project is suffering until Meta can make sure that there will be enough electricity for all these servers, the problem that is working with the interrogation to solve. The intergeon proposes the construction of new gas plants with a total capacity of 2,260 MW to support the data center, but it must first get disciplinary approval.
Some lawyers say there is no transparency around the Meta Data Center that helps the public understand the potential impact on the local power grid. New Orleans -based Alliance for Cheap Energy and the Union of Related Scientists in March asked the Louisiana Public Service Commission to include Meta as a government party in action to approve the construction of new gas plants. Doing so will force the company to disclose more information, and the Commission is scheduled to consider the movement on Monday.
“It is difficult to wrap around your brain (whether), whether it is good for your community, or your power system, your bills and your water,” says Logan Burke, Logan Burke, Executive Director of the Affordable Energy Alliance, says Logan Burke.
It is already being predicted that the increasing data center can increase electricity bills in the United States in demand for electricity. Meta said in December that it would cooperate 1 million in one year in an intergeonment program that helps older adults and disabled people afford their bills. Data centers have also been notorious for water Gozler, though Meta says it will invest in more water recovery projects.
Meanwhile, the San White House letter asks Meta to answer the list of questions by May 28. In the upper part of the data center’s power use and greenhouse gas emissions, the White House wants to know that it is justified for the construction of gas -powered power plants instead of renewable energy replacement. And it presses Meta to explain how the proposal is compatible with its 2030 climate purpose.
Meta says it will match its use of its electricity for renewable energy, including the commitment to help fund 1,500 MW in Louisiana, including the commitment to help fund new solar and battery resources. It also states that it will help the cost of adding technology to at least one power plant that will achieve carbon dioxide emissions. The White House wants to know how much fund it will provide and how much carbon will be caught. The carbon capture has been prohibited to deploy tech, and the cost is often eliminated by using Capt. CO2 to produce more fossil fuel through the process of increasing oil recovery.
“We received a letter and look forward to responding to an email said in an e -mail said Stuffy. “We believe that a diverse combination of various energy solutions is essential to strengthen our AI ambitions. And we continue to look for solutions to modern technology.”
The interjee did not respond immediately to the inquiry Stuffy The purpose is to ensure that 50 % of its production capacity is free from carbon pollution by 2030. But utility said gas is the lowest suitable cost option that can support 24/7 power demands of a large data center like Meta, “in a statement,” Fast companyWho first reported on the White House letter.
