Meta Signs Up For 505 MW DC Solar Power Plant In Texas

Global technology group previously known as Facebook, Meta Platforms is spurring the development of a 505 MW DC/396 MW AC solar power plant in Texas, US under an Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreement (EAPA) with renewable energy company Cypress Creek Renewables.

Meta says this project will support its clean energy commitments as it seeks to match all its operations with 100% clean and renewable energy.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Cypress Creek Renewables to bring solar energy to the grid in Texas – and support our operations in the region with clean and renewable energy,” said Meta’s Head of Global Energy Urvi Parekh. “We look forward to this project becoming operational.”

Independent power producer (IPP) Cypress Creek will own and operate the Hanson Solar Project in Coleman County. It will be connected to the ERCOT grid on completion. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin within 2025 with commissioning in 2027.

Cypress Creek believes this project will provide more than $80 million in local tax revenue and create over 300 construction jobs. It will support the data center operations of Meta and its sustainability goals, said Cypress Creek CEO Sarah Slusser. Her company owns more than 2 GW of solar and has over 20 GW of solar and storage capacity in the pipeline.

Corporate procurers, especially technology companies, along with utilities are leading the demand for renewable energy in the US, thus leading to a speedy deployment of clean energies in the country, according to the Sustainable Energy in America handbook of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF) released recently. According to this report, Meta was next to Amazon as the largest corporate offtakers of renewable energy in 2024 in the US (see US Added Record 49 GW Solar PV Capacity In 2024, Says BSCE & BloombergNEF).