This week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, signed three deals to buy nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar power, to support huge energy demand for data centers and AI operations.
Three new agreements will increase Meta's total installed capacity of solar power to more than 3 gigawatt in 2025 alone. With the advantage of low cost, fast construction time and environmental friendliness, solar energy is becoming a priority choice for technology giants in the AI era.
Specifically, Meta announced two projects in Louisiana, which will be acquired for the environmentally friendly nature of 385 megawatt of solar power, expected to be completed in the next two years.
Earlier this week, Meta also signed a larger deal in Texas, buying 600 megawatt from a solar farm near Lubbock, which will go commercial in 2027.
Although the Texas plant is not directly connected to the Meta data center, this amount of electricity will be merged into the local grid to compensate for the company's actual consumption.
Meanwhile, Louisiana deals on purchasing environmental certification (EACs), a form of renewable energy certification that helps Meta offset carbon emissions.
However, the EAC is controversial. Environmental experts say the certificate could conceal actual emissions, as much of the energy companies use still comes from fossil fuels.
They affirmed that to truly reduce emissions, technology corporations need to invest directly in new renewable energy projects, instead of just buying compensation certificates.
Analysts say that despite the controversy, Meta's move shows a strong shift in the technology industry to clean energy, in the context of increasing demand for electricity for AI and data centers.
