Dive Brief:
- Meta signed four new power purchase agreements with Chicago-based Invenergy to contract 760 megawatts of solar power through four solar energy projects, the companies announced last week.
- The four Invenergy solar projects are expected to begin commercial operations between this year and 2027 in Ohio, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, according to a Dec. 5 press release.
- The latest contracts bring the total amount of clean energy Meta has procured from Invenergy to over 1 gigawatt. Meta Global Head of Energy Uvi Parekh said in the release that the milestone “is a testament to Meta’s commitment to matching [its] growing power needs with clean energy.
Dive Insight:
In addition to the contracted power, Meta will receive clean energy credits for bringing the four new solar projects online. The electricity from the four projects will be delivered to local grids.
“Energy demand is soaring — and Invenergy is excited to work with Meta to deliver long-term, clean energy solutions to support their operations,” Invenergy Executive Vice President of Origination Ted Romaine said in the release.
Meta will receive 150 MW of solar power from Invenergy’s Hardin II project in Ohio and its Delilah II project in Texas, expected online in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The company will then receive 110 MW of power from the Tip Top Solar project, expected online in New Mexico in 2026, and 350 MW of power from Arizona’s Chalk Bluff project, expected in 2027.
The solar power deals with Invenergy were announced the same week that the Instagram and Facebook owner put out requests for proposals for new nuclear power to help meet its artificial intelligence and sustainability goals.
Meta has matched 100% of its operational energy use with renewable energy since 2020, according to its latest sustainability report. However, the increased pace of AI adoption has led the company to also seek different forms of zero-emissions power to help power operations.
The company’s Dec. 3 request for proposals seeks developers that can deliver between 1 GW and 4 GW of new nuclear power by the 2030s to meet the company’s “AI innovation and sustainability objectives.
Additionally, Meta also inked a geothermal energy deal with Sage Geosystems in August to help power the company’s data center expansion. The deal will give Meta 150 MW of geothermal to power its next-generation data centers east of the Rocky Mountains.
