"The foray into power trading comes after Meta heard from investors and plant developers that too few power buyers were willing to make the early, long-term commitments required to spur investment, according to Urvi Parekh, the company's head of global energy. Trading electricity will give the company the flexibility to enter more of those longer contracts. Plant developers want to know that the consumers of power are willing to put skin in the game, Parekh said in an interview."
"A tech company, for instance, might commit to buy large amounts of electricity from a new plant under a take-or-pay deal, knowing that if its data centers use less than expected, it can resell the surplus into wholesale power markets. Meta's move into trading underscores how the huge increase in power demand is rapidly transforming the world of US energy and electricity, said Ben Hertz-Shargel of energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie"
Meta Platforms Inc. is entering electricity trading to accelerate construction of US power plants needed for its AI operations. Investors and plant developers reported that too few power buyers make early, long-term commitments required to spur new generation. Trading electricity allows Meta to sign longer contracts and hedge risk by reselling surplus into wholesale markets if data center demand falls. The new Louisiana data center campus requires Entergy to build at least three gas-fired plants. Most utilities cannot finance new generation without long-term buyer commitments. Tech companies' rising power needs are rapidly transforming the US energy and electricity landscape.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]