Meta Signs PPAs with RWE to Power Data Centers, Offices from New U.S. Solar Farms
Power producer RWE announced it has signed two, long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with Meta from two solar farms under construction in the U.S., providing renewable energy for Meta’s operations including data centers and offices.
Onsite construction is underway on RWE’s 274-megawatt (MWac) County Run Solar project in Illinois and on its 100 (MWac) Lafitte Solar project in Louisiana, with commissioning planned for both sites in late 2025.
Meta has set a target to reach net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2030, and is one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy. The company achieved its goal to meet 100% of its operational energy needs with renewable sources in 2020, and recently said that it anticipates adding 9.8 GW of renewable energy to local grids in the U.S. through its supported wind and solar projects by 2025.
Urvi Parekh, Head of Renewable Energy at Meta, said:
“Partnering with renewable energy providers like RWE to bring new solar energy projects online is an important part of our approach to energy procurement. We are excited to scale our renewable energy contracts and this collaboration is an important demonstration of those efforts and our commitment to match 100% of the electricity use of our data centers and offices with renewable energy.”
Germany-based RWE announced earlier this year that it had raised $2 billion in its inaugural U.S. green bond issuance to be used to finance renewable energy projects. The new projects in Illinois and Louisiana will add to the company’s renewables portfolio in the U.S. of 9.3 GW including wind, solar and batteries. The company has announced plans to invest €55 billion worldwide by 2030 in renewable energy, batteries, flexible generation and hydrogen projects, including around €20 billion anticipated to be invested in the U.S.
Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy, said:
“RWE’s continued investment in the U.S. renewables market is underpinned by new opportunities to partner with leading technology companies like Meta, which are driving demand for clean energy to support their operations. Today, we are able to meet this moment and generate impact with our rapidly scaling U.S. renewables platform to drive decarbonization across all industries, while fueling economic growth and job creation in those communities where we own and operate these facilities.”