ech companies want to hold the power, literally and figuratively.
On Friday, a Meta executive told Bloomberg that the company is getting into energy trading to shore up US power plants amid the AI-driven boom in demand. Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy, said the decision will give the company the flexibility to enter long contracts for energy, as power plant developers “want to know that the consumers of power are willing to put skin in the game,” she told Bloomberg.
Meta isn’t the first tech company on the hunt for power. Tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon and Google have all invested in nuclear energy, and Google is even setting its sights on moonshots like space-based data centers that directly run on the sun’s energy.
- Each of these firms sees the writing on the wall, Dan Stein, CEO of Giving Green, told The Deep View: “Companies just need more electrons than the grid can currently provide.”
- As it stands, we’re in for a power shortfall of up to 13 gigawatts for data centers by 2028, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.
But actually getting their hands on the energy needed stands to risk their “social license to operate,” said Stein. If increased energy demand from their data centers causes local pollution, increased carbon emissions or up retail power prices, Stein noted, it’s not a good look.
Getting into energy trading, as Meta is doing, allows for creativity in sourcing electricity, and gives these firms the flexibility to sell extra power if they buy too much, Stein said. To put it simply, they’re supporting the creation of power, not just benefiting from it.
“To solve all these problems, hyperscalers are needing to get creative with energy contracting,” said Stein. “With companies signing large, forward-looking contracts, becoming formal energy traders is an obvious next step.”