Meta on Monday said it had agreed to what it called a “first of its kind” deal harnessing solar energy to power AI data centers.
The Facebook parent company has signed a deal with startup Overview Energy to access up to 1 gigawatt of capacity from Overview’s space solar energy system.
Under the agreement, the partners plan to launch a thousand satellites into space. These would then direct infrared light to existing solar farms on Earth and convert it into electricity for data centers worldwide.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2022, Overview says its satellite system enables power to be routed worldwide based on demand without requiring an infrastructure overhaul on the ground.
Overview says it has already successfully proven the viability of the system, transmitting power from an aircraft to the ground. An initial orbit of the constellation to prove its efficacy in space is expected in 2028, with the first commercial delivery projected by 2030.
"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 in a release.
With terrestrial data sites facing pushback over high land, water and energy consumption, AI vendors are increasingly turning to creative alternative methods to meet power needs. Deep sea and space, in particular, have been gaining traction, with other emerging players including Amazon’s Blue Origin and Los Angeles-based Orbital.
According to the companies, the deal makes Meta one of the first major corporations to secure rights to future space solar energy capacity delivered from orbit to the grid.
"Space is becoming part of America's energy infrastructure," Marc Berte, CEO of Overview, said in a statement. "Together with Meta, we're looking beyond traditional constraints on where and when power can be delivered to meet the growing demand for electricity.”
