Zelestra Solar PPA Boosts Meta's Renewable Portfolio in US

Social media and digital technology giant Meta Platforms is stacking up its utility-scale solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) to multiple GWs off-setting its energy use nationwide.

Meta recently signed a PPA with renewable developer Zelestra for the 176-MW Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas. It raises Meta’s overall PPA total with Zelestra to about 1.2 GW of current and future solar capacity across seven U.S. projects.

“Our clean energy collaboration with Meta is gathering momentum across the US,” Phil North, CEO of Zelestra US, said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome full operations at Jasper County and start construction at two further major projects."

Zelestra announced that its 81-MW Jasper County Solar Project was in full commercial operation in Indiana, which is the first operational solar farm under the Meta PPA partnership. All of the projects included in the Meta PPA are expected to be operational by 2028.

These PPAs don’t necessarily result in carbon-free energy directly routed to power Meta operations. Instead, the investments help finance construction and interconnection to deliver more renewable energy into the interconnected grid mix.

AI-supporting technology firms such as Meta, Microsoft and Google are leading corporate procurement of renewable energy generation in the U.S. A S&P Global report last year indicated that hyperscalers have contracted more than 84 GW of renewable energy project development through PPAs and other agreements.

Meta ranked third among those Big Tech renewable PPA buyers, behind Amazon and Microsoft and just ahead of Google parent Alphabet Inc.

In addition to its PPAs with Zelestra, Meta has struck similar low carbon energy development deals with RWE, Ivenergy, EDP and Constellation on future nuclear power generation.