Funding & Investment in Travel
Meta turns to solar — again — in its data center-building boom
Tech companies may be vocal about their love of advanced nuclear power — the flashy trend that’s been sweeping the energy sector — but they continue to add renewable capacity.
Meta recently signed a deal with Spanish renewable developer Zelestra for 595 megawatts of solar power in Texas, just two weeks after signing a separate solar deal with utility company Engie. It’s a significant purchase for the tech company, representing a nearly 5% bump to the 12-plus gigawatts of renewable capacity it currently has under contract.
The announcement comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg maintains the company’s ambitious AI strategy — which will require hefty capital investments in data centers.
Meta is racing to make its open source Llama 4 model a rival to closed-source competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. And while DeepSeek showed that models could be developed more efficiently, its approach doesn’t necessarily apply to leading-edge models like Llama 4.
Meta plans to spend $60 billion this year on capital investments, most of which would go toward data center infrastructure, calling it a “strategic advantage” for the company, Zuckerberg said during a Wednesday earnings call.
Like many of its peers, Meta is betting that nuclear reactors can provide stable power for its future compute needs, soliciting proposals for 1 to 4 gigawatts of capacity to come online in the early 2030s. One gigawatt is enough to power about 750,000 homes.
But the company can’t wait until then to add to its data center footprint. Meta and others are deploying enormous sums of capital to build data centers, which need correspondingly large amounts of power. The chokepoint has some experts predicting that half of all new AI data centers will be underpowered by 2027.
Nuclear power plants take years to build, and the latest crop of advanced reactors have yet to be commercially proven. Natural gas power plants are slightly faster.
Neither can compete with the speed of renewable deployment.
A solar farm can be brought online in as few as 18 months, and because the technology is modular, portions of the power plant can start delivering power before the last panel is connected.
That speed has allowed renewables like wind, solar, and grid-scale battery storage to continue racking up new contracts from tech companies. In addition to this week’s deal, Meta announced earlier this month it bought 200 megawatts of solar from Engie, which will come online later this year. Elsewhere, Microsoft is helping to deploy $9 billion worth of renewables with Acadia Infrastructure Capital, while Google is anchoring a $20 billion renewable fund with Intersect Power and TPG Rise.
Funding & Investment in Travel
Hazardous travel conditions as rain warnings in effect across nine counties this morning
… of localised flooding and hazardous travel conditions until the wet conditions … risk for each county, with travellers warned of “widespread” surface flooding …
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Funding & Investment in Travel
Bob Marley Hope Road Stirs up the Night with an Unforgettable Premiere at Mandalay Bay – Travel Industry Today
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Shocking footage posted to the Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) brought attention to the moment four bikers cut through the Grand Prismatic at Yellowstone National Park.
“The 4 of them were biking from the tree line towards the boardwalk when, as they were nearing the actual hot springs, several people yelled at them to turn around,” the caption reads.
The Grand Prismatic in Yellowstone is the largest hot spring in the United States, known for its geysers. Microbial mats have played a major role in scientific research and help preserve the unique geothermal ecosystem. Biking over the springs is not only dangerous for bikers, but it also has considerable impacts on the landscape.
“I have never seen anything like this in Yellowstone ever after many decades,” TouronsOfYellowstone wrote. “This is next level! I just don’t understand the thought process these people had to think that it was okay for them to not just walk but to ride their bikes on the Grand Prismatic.”
Infiltrating ecosystems meant to be preserved can lead to a slew of legal issues. Some people who have done so have ended up with $5,000 in fines. Risking safety is also a dangerous factor. Geysers such as the Grand Prismatic have been known to seriously injure or kill people who have broken safety protocols.
Brandon Gauthier, Yellowstone’s chief safety officer, explained that the park tries “to educate people starting when they come through the gate.” Gauthier further stated that there is “a fine line between giving visitors a chance to get close to popular attractions and ruining the natural landscapes that national parks were created to preserve.”
Due to past deaths, the park continues to emphasize how dangerous such actions can be.
Trespassing can further ruin biodiversity. Tourist interference has caused water pollution, introduced invasive species, and damaged microbial mats, according to some reports. Biking over the ecosystem is undoubtedly another massive blow to the preservation of the geysers.
Disregarding safety signs and regulations can also make wildlife interactions more likely, endangering both humans and animals. Animals that injure humans, whether they’re provoked or not, may be euthanized.
Commenters were appalled by the tourists’ behavior.
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“They should all be arrested immediately, fined and banned from all national parks forever,” voiced one angry user.
Another user commented, “I’ve said it before, the possibility of being boiled alive and turned into goo does not scare people enough.”
To avoid legal, safety, and biodiversity issues, the solution is clear: Follow the rules when enjoying national parks.
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