The Big Picture
Meta has signed a groundbreaking agreement with startup Overview Energy to secure up to one gigawatt of space-based solar energy for its AI data centers. This marks one of the first major commitments by a technology giant to harness orbital solar power.
Why This Matters
Meta's data centers consumed more than 18,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2024. As artificial intelligence workloads explode, so does energy demand. Traditional solar power has a fundamental problem: it stops working when the sun goes down. Space-based solar could solve this by providing round-the-clock clean energy
.
How It Works
Overview Energy plans to place solar-collecting satellites in geosynchronous orbit, approximately 36,000 kilometers above Earth. At this altitude, sunlight is constant. The satellites would gather solar energy and beam it back to Earth as low-intensity, near-infrared light directed at existing ground-based solar installations. Those facilities would convert the beam using their existing infrastructure and feed electricity into the grid — even at night
.
The Timeline
The technology remains experimental. Overview Energy has demonstrated power transmission from an aircraft, but not yet from orbit. The company's roadmap calls for an orbital demonstration in 2028. If successful, commercial deliveries to the U.S. grid could begin around 2030. A fleet of approximately one thousand satellites in geostationary orbit would eventually cover about a third of the planet — from the U.S. Pacific Coast to Western Europe
.
Beyond Just Space Solar
Meta has also reserved up to one gigawatt and 100 gigawatt-hours of ultra-long-duration energy storage from Noon Energy. This technology uses reversible solid oxide fuel cells combined with carbon-based storage to hold energy for more than 100 hours — far beyond the capacity of today's lithium-ion batteries, which typically discharge within hours. A pilot demonstration is targeted for 2028.
The Strategic Context
Meta's push comes amid unprecedented AI infrastructure investment. The company has contracted more than 30 gigawatts of clean and renewable energy to date, including geothermal partnerships and nuclear power agreements. Together, the four major tech giants — Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta — plan to invest a staggering $725 billion in AI infrastructure in 2026, a 77% increase from 2025.
The Risk
Both technologies face major hurdles. Overview Energy must prove efficiency, safety, regulatory compliance, and cost competitiveness against conventional renewables plus storage. The agreement is currently a capacity reservation, not a guaranteed purchase contract. Still, a Meta executive called space solar "a transformative step forward"
.
