- Meta-bet on space solar with Overview Energy for nonstop data center power
- Noon Energy joins Meta’s push for ultra-long-term grid storage systems
- Meta and Overview Energy Target 2028 Milestone Launch of Orbital Energy Demonstration
Meta has announced a partnership with Overview Energy to bring space-based solar power to its data centers, allowing solar farms to generate electricity around the clock.
Today’s solar panels only produce power when the sun is shining, leaving them idle for large parts of each day.
Overview Energy’s satellites sit in geosynchronous orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth, where sunlight is constant. These satellites collect energy in space and beam it down to Earth-based solar systems as low-intensity near-infrared light.
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How space solar energy actually works on Earth
“The potential to make existing infrastructure produce more output is what makes space solar worth investing in now to help move this technology from concept to the grid,” Meta stated in a blog post.
Existing solar farms will receive the radiated energy and convert it into electricity in the same way they handle direct sunlight.
This means that facilities that are currently idle at night can continue to produce power around the clock without requiring additional ground or grid infrastructure.
Because the technology builds on solar infrastructure already in place, rather than requiring new facilities, it can come online faster at scale than traditional builds.
Meta has secured a capacity reservation for up to 1GW of this circuit-to-grid energy to support its data center operations.
Overview’s orbital demonstration is scheduled for 2028, marking the first time the system is planned to send power wirelessly from space to a solar farm on Earth.
In addition to space-based solar systems, Meta is also investing in long-term storage because the grid needs storage that can transport clean energy for longer periods.
Meta has partnered with Noon Energy to implement ultra-long-term energy storage using modular, reversible solid oxide fuel cells and carbon-based storage.
This technology provides over 100 hours of energy storage, far beyond what today’s lithium-ion batteries can deliver.
Early technology, high stakes
Meta has contracted more than 30 GW of clean and renewable energy to date, representing billions in capital investment.
The company is also one of the largest corporate purchasers of nuclear power in US history, supporting 7.7 GW with multiple providers.
These solar and storage technologies are early stage, which is precisely why Meta is supporting them now rather than waiting for maturity.
If Overview’s orbital demonstration is successful, commercial delivery to the US grid could begin as early as 2030.
However, sending energy from space to Earth on a commercial scale has never been done before, and the effectiveness of this transmission remains unproven.
The infrastructure required to receive and convert the radiated energy across hundreds of solar farms does not yet exist.
Noon Energy’s carbon-based storage technology also faces issues of cycle life, degradation and production scale.
This means Meta is placing big bets on unproven technologies because the payoff, if successful, would be transformative.
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