Borrowing light from space: Meta signs 1-gigawatt agreement, plans to power AI data centers with space-based solar energy

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Meta is turning its sights beyond Earth’s atmosphere, seeking to open up new sources of clean energy for its AI data centers.

On Monday, Meta announced an agreement with space photovoltaic startup Overview Energy, securing priority access to up to 1 gigawatt of space photovoltaic capacity—a scale roughly equivalent to the output of a nuclear reactor. The two parties expect commercial power supply to be achieved by 2030. This is one of the largest energy procurement agreements in the space photovoltaic field signed by a tech company to date.

Nat Sahlstrom, Meta’s Vice President of Energy and Sustainability, stated in a press release that space photovoltaic technology represents a transformative advancement, enabling "uninterrupted energy" to be continuously delivered from orbit using existing ground infrastructure. This agreement is part of Meta’s multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure investment plan and reflects the tech giant’s strategic intention to accelerate a diversified energy supply in the face of soaring electricity demand.

Technology is still in the validation stage, with commercial implementation years away

Overview Energy, headquartered in Northern Virginia, centers on deploying solar collection devices aboard satellites in Earth’s orbit, continuously harvesting solar energy in space and wirelessly transmitting electricity to ground-based receiving facilities to achieve round-the-clock power supply.

However, this vision is still in the phase of technological development and testing. Overview Energy plans to complete its first orbital demonstration in 2028, with commercial power supply projected to start in 2030. Neither party disclosed specific financial terms of the agreement, and Meta said the deal grants it priority access to Overview Energy’s future production capacity.

The potential advantage of space photovoltaics lies in the fact that the sun never sets in orbit; it is unaffected by weather, day-night cycles, or seasonal changes, and can address the inherent drawbacks of the intermittent nature of ground-based solar power.

AI arms race drives up electricity demand, Meta diversifies energy supply

Behind this agreement is Meta’s ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure, which has led to a huge electricity shortfall. With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence applications, demand for electricity from data centers is surging, putting considerable strain on the current U.S. grid.

Meta is now building gigawatt-scale data centers in multiple locations across the U.S., including a large campus in rural Louisiana—Trump once stated this project has a price tag of $50 billion and covers an area as large as a significant portion of Manhattan. According to Reuters, to support operations at this largest AI data center campus, Meta is backing the construction of ten new gas power plants, as natural gas remains its most relied-upon energy source due to its supply stability compared with some clean energies.

At the same time, Meta is actively expanding its nuclear energy initiatives, having partnered with companies such as Vistra, Oklo, and TerraPower, and is now among the global leaders in corporate nuclear power procurement. The agreement with Overview Energy further extends its energy portfolio into space.

Tech giants race to explore space energy, sector heats up

Meta is not the only tech company looking to space to solve data center energy challenges. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have previously discussed the possibility of directly deploying computing facilities in orbit.

For investors, the significance of this agreement lies mainly in its signaling: tech giants are securing long-term energy supply with unprecedented intensity and breadth—from traditional fossil fuels and nuclear power to the yet-to-be-commercialized space photovoltaics, pursuing multiple avenues. Whether Overview Energy can complete its orbital demonstration in 2028 and achieve commercial delivery by 2030 as planned will be a critical test of the viability of this emerging sector.

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