Meta recently signed a deal with the space startup to secure solar power for its data centers to increase productivity.
Mark Zuckerberg-founded platform Meta has signed a deal with Overview Energy to secure power from the startup’s space-based solar power infrastructure for 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 transmit it to facilities on the ground for around-the-clock power generation.
According to company sources, initial orbital demonstration of the system is expected in 2028 and commercial power delivery in 2030.
Additionally, the agreement gives Meta early access to 1 gigawatt of capacity from the Overview system, the companies said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Space solar technology represents a transformative step forward by leveraging existing terrestrial infrastructure to provide new, uninterrupted energy from orbit,” said Nate Sahlstrom, vice president of energy and sustainability at META.
Like its Big Tech peers, Meta has been securing long-term energy supply deals as the growing use of artificial intelligence and the data center boom put pressure on the existing US power grid. Tech companies are also turning to new energy sources as they face opposition from environmental and consumer groups.
Meta is building several gigawatt-scale data centers across the US, including one in rural Louisiana, a project US President Donald Trump has said would cost $50 billion, and would expand a site comparable in size to a significant portion of Manhattan.
The social media giant has also partnered with companies like Vistra, Oklo and TerraPower, making it one of the leading corporate buyers of nuclear power in the world.
