Key insights
- Meta's partnership with Overview Energy to secure space-based solar power for its data centers by 2030 signals a proactive approach to meeting the immense energy demands of AI and data center growth. This move, alongside other Big Tech peers, highlights the increasing pressure on the US power grid and the search for novel, sustainable energy solutions. While the direct market impact is limited, it reflects a significant trend in corporate energy procurement and infrastructure development.
April 27 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has signed an agreement with Overview Energy to secure power from the startup’s space-based solar energy infrastructure for the Facebook parent’s data centers by the end of the decade.
Overview Energy is developing a system that can collect solar energy in space and beam it to facilities on the ground for power generation around the clock. Initial orbital demonstration of the system is expected in 2028, with commercial power delivery in 2030, the companies said.
The agreement grants Meta early access to up to 1 gigawatt of capacity from Overview’s system, the companies added. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Space solar technology represents a transformative step forward by leveraging existing terrestrial infrastructure to deliver new, uninterrupted energy from orbit," Nat Sahlstrom, vice president of energy and sustainability at Meta, said.
Like its Big Tech peers, Meta has been securing long-term energy supply deals as the surging use of artificial intelligence and the data center boom put pressure on the existing U.S. power grid. Tech companies are also turning to new power sources as they face pushback from environmental and consumer groups.
Meta is building several gigawatt-scale data centers across the U.S., including one in rural Louisiana, a project U.S. President Donald Trump has said would cost $50 billion, and span a site comparable in size to a significant part of Manhattan.
The social media giant has also partnered with companies such as Vistra, Oklo and TerraPower, positioning it as one of the leading corporate buyers of nuclear power in the world.
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