Facebook parent company Meta has signed up for 574 MW of solar in long-term power purchase agreements with developer RWE over the past few months.
The latest is a PPA for RWE’s 200-MW Waterloo Solar Project in Bastrop County, Texas. Under corporate PPAs, the customer typically does not receive the renewable energy directly, but the long-term contract helps the developer finance and build projects while also paving the way for more clean energy on the grid and offsetting the customer’s actual energy use.
Under the agreement, Meta will purchase 100% of the output from the Waterloo project, which is expected to begin onsite construction in late 2025.
The agreement represents RWE’s third long-term contract with Meta in recent months, totaling a combined offtake of 574 MW from projects in Texas, Illinois and Louisiana. RWE had secured two PPAs with Meta for 100% of the output from its 274 MW County Run Solar project in Illinois and its 100 MW Lafitte Solar project in Louisiana.
"RWE's partnership with Meta underscores the importance of unleashing American electricity generation from all sources to support load growth in Texas and across the U.S.,” said Christoph Hunfeld, chief commercial officer at RWE Clean Energy, in a statement. “These collaborations enable us to continue investing in communities across America like Bastrop County, helping to stimulate job creation and economic prosperity, while simultaneously helping companies like Meta match the electricity use of their operations with clean and renewable energy."
The Waterloo Solar is expected to create approximately 300 full-time jobs at peak construction. RWE's investment during the project's construction phase, from direct employment and associated wages and benefits to purchases of local goods and services, will produce an estimated $26 million in new local economic activity.
Meta is working to match 100% of its electricity use with renewable energy. So far, the company has contracted nearly 12 GW in renewable energy PPAs.
