Meta Builds Gas Plants, Who Really Pays the Price?

Meta just scored approval to build three brand-new natural gas power plants in Louisiana. Yep, apparently selfies, reels, and your aunt’s conspiracy memes are so energy-hungry that Louisiana had to whip up some extra fossil-fueled juice just to keep them alive. Regulators approved the deal on August 20, 2025, and the plants should be chugging along by 2028.

This isn’t just some boring construction permit. Meta’s shiny ten billion dollar data center will eventually slurp up five gigawatts of power. That’s not just a lot, that’s “leave your toaster on for 500 million years” kind of a lot. It’s like Louisiana is saying, “Sure, Facebook, you can have your own mini power grid.” And that’s the newsworthy part: tech companies are officially in the “we need so much power we’ll just build our own plants” phase.

They need stable power for all those AI experiments and cat videos. You can’t run a chatbot that wants to take over the world on solar panels that take a nap when it’s cloudy. And Meta isn’t alone in this game. They’re competing with Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, who are all building data centers that eat electricity like it’s Halloween candy.

Meta just happens to be the one rolling in with gas plants while everyone else is flexing their “we’re green, trust us” muscle. Think of it like a race where everyone is bragging about their Tesla, but Meta just pulled up in a giant diesel truck and said, “Hop in.”

If you’re a CEO or Founder, you should care because this is the canary in the coal mine for energy costs. Your favorite AI tools don’t run on magic; they run on plants like this. And if Meta is gulping down five gigawatts, your own bills and vendor costs are going to feel the ripple effect.

If you’re a manager or worker, it matters because the stuff you depend on: Google Docs, Slack, Zoom, or that “productivity AI” your boss swore would replace half your job, only works if these data centers run 24/7. And if you’re just a regular person, well, congratulations, you might get stuck paying for this when costs go over budget.

Because spoiler: when billion-dollar projects blow past deadlines and numbers, they don’t call Mark Zuckerberg for a Venmo request. They send the bill to local ratepayers like you and your grandma, who still calls it “The Facebook.”

Who actually pays when Meta’s contract runs out in fifteen years, but the gas plants keep chugging for thirty? Does Louisiana really need more fossil fuel plants in 2025 when we’re all supposed to be chasing clean energy? And will communities hosting these mega-projects get more than just bragging rights and traffic jams?

At the end of the day, this isn’t just about a data center. It’s about how the digital world we can’t live without, AI, endless reels, online shopping at 2 a.m., requires very real, very expensive, very gas-powered infrastructure. And while Meta gets to power its empire, you might get to power… the bill.

What do you think? Is this just the cost of keeping our digital lives running, or are we handing over too much for Facebook’s power needs? Could this hit your bills, your job, or your community? Drop your hot take, just don’t use too much electricity while doing it.

- Matt Masinga