Meta’s ‘Clean Energy’ Exit Signals These AI-Power Stocks Could Surge on Demand Boom

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Back in 2016, Meta Platforms (META) joined RE100, a renewable energy initiative formed by the United Kingdom-based Climate Group. Upon joining RE100 – which also counts Microsoft (MSFT), Google, and Apple (AAPL) among its more than 400 members – Meta pledged to source all of its electricity from renewables by 2021.

Fast-forward 10 years, and Meta has exited the clean-energy initiative, according to a report from Recharge News.

Many major tech businesses and data-center operators face a crucial decision in 2026 that could not only transform the energy markets but also impact the environment. If renewable energy sources simply aren’t enough to supply data centers with the enormous amounts of power they need, do they turn to “dark energy” sources like natural gas to stay ahead in the artificial-intelligence (“AI”) infrastructure race?

That decision will have a major impact on both the renewable energy and natural gas sectors moving forward.

Meta’s AI-Driven Pivot Away From Renewable Energy

Meta set the wheels in motion last June, when it commissioned Will-Power OH, a subsidiary of The Williams Companies (WMB), to build a 200-megawatt (“MW”) natural gas power plant to power its data centers in the area.

Then, in March, Meta and Entergy (ETR) agreed to a deal in which Entergy would build seven new natural gas power plants in Louisiana to provide more than 5 gigawatts (“GW”) of power for its massive Hyperion data center. That’s in addition to three previously approved natural gas plants, for a total of 10 facilities that will deliver more than 7 GW of power to the data center.

All told, that was enough for Climate Group, which stated:

After several in-depth conversations between Meta and Climate Group, Meta has withdrawn from the RE100 initiative, as it is no longer able to meet the technical criteria due to investments made in new gas power.

Now, to be fair, Meta hasn’t entirely pivoted from renewable energy. According to the company, it is continuing its investments in renewable energy and intends to maintain the goal of matching 100% of its electricity use with investments in clean energy, which it has achieved every year since 2020.

Meta’s solar and wind energy projects have generated nearly 30 GW to date for its data centers globally. But it’s still not enough.

To power its increasingly ambitious AI data-center projects, Meta needs more energy than renewable resources can provide on their own.

Meta Is Not Alone in Its Move to Natural Gas, Despite Environmental Harm

Meta is not alone in taking the natural gas route to power its data centers. Both Google and Microsoft have also invested in fossil-fuel resources for power. In fact, Microsoft inked a deal in June in which Chevron (CVX) will supply natural gas energy to one of Microsoft’s data centers in Texas. The difference between those two hyperscalers and Meta is that Meta’s fossil-fuel plans are far larger in scope, which is ultimately what doomed Meta’s Climate Group membership.

However, if Google, Microsoft, and other tech companies keep pushing for natural gas and/or coal power, their memberships in the climate initiative will likely be in jeopardy as well.

Environmentally speaking, natural gas is considered cleaner for the planet than other traditional sources, such as coal. Natural gas is viewed more as a “bridge” between clean renewable energy sources and dirty fossil fuels.

Still, this appears to be how many hyperscalers and data-center operators will secure additional energy for the foreseeable future. According to the International Energy Agency, natural gas and coal could supply more than 40% of extra electricity to data centers until 2030.

What matters most to these companies is this: Globally, data centers will consume roughly 565 terawatt-hours (“TWh”) of energy this year… a 26% increase from 2025. For context, that is more electricity than the entire population of Canada uses in a whole year.

The International Energy Agency estimates that demand will hit more than 1,000 TWh by 2030. That’s nearly the amount of electricity the entire country of Russia consumes yearly.

Considering that renewable energy is essentially infinite, why aren’t tech companies choosing to stick with that resource moving forward, rather than shifting gears and turning to natural gas or coal?

First, renewable energy isn’t fully reliable, and data centers need massive amounts of power 24/7. The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. The only way data centers could consistently use renewable energy is if they were equipped with huge – and quite expensive – battery storage systems that trap and hold excess energy.

Second, clean energy simply can’t be deployed fast enough or at the scale data centers need. AI’s thirst for power is nearly insatiable, and it needs massive amounts of consistent energy every day.

Natural gas provides that, which is why so many tech companies have been actively pursuing contracts with gas and energy companies to support their AI build-outs.

Natural Gas Stocks Could Explode Higher as AI Boom Drives Growth

Back in October, I wrote about why natural gas would be a viable energy solution for AI data centers.

In that piece, I noted:

Today, America simply does not generate enough power to meet the expected demand of data centers. As the country’s energy leaders work to solve this challenge, one thing is clear… natural gas will be the energy source that helps fuel the AI boom, at least in the near term.

But there are bottlenecks, such as long grid connection delays, gas pipeline capacity, and supply-chain limits. That has led some tech companies to maneuver around those choke points.

Here’s an excerpt from my October article:

Rather than wait in a yearslong grid interconnection queue, many tech companies are partnering with utilities to build off-grid, natural gas-powered facilities directly on data-center sites, as well as behind-the-meter (“BTM”) systems that are physically connected to the grid but mainly serve onsite loads…

Behind-the-meter natural gas facilities, while physically connected to the grid, are designed to serve onsite power requirements while bypassing the grid itself. This reduces reliance on the grid and allows data centers to still control their power supply onsite.

Companies like CoreWeave (CRWV), Oracle (ORCL), and CloudBurst Data Centers have used these facilities. So have Elon Musk’s SpaceX (SPCX) and xAI companies.

Natural gas turbines are becoming an increasingly popular – and efficient – way to power data centers as well.

Musk has gone all-in on these turbines, as my colleague Steven Longenecker pointed out in June.

Elon Musk will be one of the world’s top buyers of gas turbines over the next few years…

SpaceX [SPCX] has committed to spending more than $2.8 billion on these turbines for its artificial intelligence (“AI”) build-out, the company recently revealed in its initial public offering (“IPO”) filing…

In March, SpaceX agreed to buy $805 million worth of turbines from an unnamed supplier, with deliveries running through 2029. Then in late April, the company struck a separate, still-pending deal for roughly $2 billion worth of mobile gas turbines and related equipment from another vendor.

Why? Because natural gas turbines deliver the energy data centers need, and they can be installed in a matter of months, rather than the years it would normally take to build a new power plant.

In addition to the turbines Musk purchased, as noted above, he went one step further in July. He purchased an entire energy company – Florida-based APR Energy – for its natural gas-turbine inventory, rather than wait to buy them from other companies – natural gas-turbine inventories are sold out for years in advance.

I covered this transaction on July 21, writing:

Elon Musk is at it once again. The world’s richest person quietly purchased APR Energy on July 14, a Jacksonville-based power company specializing in rapidly deployable, modular power generation, the Florida Times-Union reported.

The deal, which is thought to be worth at least $1 billion, gives Musk what APR Energy’s website describes as “one of the world’s largest mobile gas turbine fleets,” with solutions that scale from 20 megawatts (“MW”) to 500 MW. APR Energy has delivered more than 50 terawatt-hours of power to more than 35 countries.

Most importantly, the company claims it can “deliver reliable energy in 30 to 90 days.”

And that’s exactly what Musk – and every other data-center operator and hyperscaler in the world – desperately wants and needs. Plenty of power… and fast.

In the words of Professor Joel Litman (founder and chief investment officer of Altimetry), this type of energy solution is called “Dark Energy,” which Steven wrote about in great detail.

Dark Energy is Joel’s term for on-site, natural gas power generation built around a specific kind of turbine. It’s the first choice of AI data centers and hyperscalers for an uninterrupted source of off-grid electricity…

These Dark Energy turbines are about the only way AI labs can get power now, rather than in five to 10 years.

Regardless of how hyperscalers like Meta obtain it, natural gas looks increasingly like the energy source that will power data centers through the rest of the decade, and possibly beyond.

And that’s one of the reasons the stocks of natural gas companies, including those that specialize in gas production, pipelines, and turbines, have largely increased over the past year, as of July 29.

• The Williams Companies:Up 18%
• Kinder Morgan (KMI): Up 14%
• Baker Hughes (BKR): Up 29%
• GE Vernova (GEV): Up 37%
• Bloom Energy (BE): Up 335% (not a typo)
• Chevron: Up 25%
• ExxonMobil (XOM): Up 31%

Not surprisingly, solar stocks have struggled mightily, especially recently. Between June 1 and July 29, SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) fell by 48.5%, Enphase Energy (ENPH) dropped 45%, and Sunrun (RUN) is down 39%.

Between Big Tech’s push toward natural gas and President Donald Trump’s war on renewable energy, investors would be wise to consider some of the natural gas stocks listed above. Given Meta’s – and some of its competitors’ – major investments in natural gas, it certainly looks like that will be the energy source of choice moving forward.

Regards,

David Engle

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