Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space
Source: TechCrunch
Context
In 2024, Meta’s data centers consumed more than 18,000 GWh of electricity—enough to power roughly 1.7 million American homes for a year (EIA source). The company has pledged to build 30 GW of renewable power capacity, focusing on large‑scale solar installations.
Typical solar‑powered data centers must either invest in battery storage or rely on other generation sources to operate after sunset.
Overview Energy’s Solution
Overview Energy, a four‑year‑old startup based in Ashburn, Virginia, emerged from stealth in December 2023 (TechCrunch article). Its approach:
- Collect solar power in space using spacecraft.
- Convert the energy to near‑infrared light.
- Beam the infrared light to existing terrestrial solar farms (hundreds of megawatts in size) that can convert the light back into electricity.
By using a wide infrared beam, Overview aims to avoid the safety, regulatory, and technical challenges associated with high‑power laser or microwave transmission. CEO Marc Berte says the beam can be viewed directly without harmful effects.
The company has already demonstrated power transmission from an aircraft to the ground and plans to launch a low‑Earth‑orbit satellite in January 2028 for its first space‑to‑ground power transmission.
Meta Agreement
Meta announced its first capacity reservation agreement with Overview, securing up to 1 GW of power from the company’s spacecraft. The contract introduces a new metric—megawatt photons—representing the amount of light needed to generate one megawatt of electricity.
Deployment Timeline
- 2030: Launch of the first satellites to fulfill the Meta commitment.
- Goal: Deploy 1,000 spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit, each with a service life of over 10 years.
- Coverage: An initial fleet would span from the U.S. West Coast to Western Europe, providing supplemental illumination to solar farms as the Earth rotates into night.
Berte emphasizes the flexibility of delivering power “wherever and whenever it is most valuable,” noting that being present in multiple energy markets simultaneously offers a strategic advantage.