- Meta bets on space solar energy with Overview Energy to obtain uninterrupted power from the data center
- Noon Energy joins Meta push for ultra-long duration grid storage systems
- Orbital Energy Demonstration Milestone Launched Meta and Overview Energy Target 2028
Meta has announced a partnership with Overview Energy to bring space solar power to its data centers, allowing solar farms to generate electricity 24 hours a day.
Current solar installations only produce energy when the sun shines, leaving them idle for much of the day.
Overview Energy satellites are in a geosynchronous orbit approximately 22,000 miles above Earth, where sunlight is constant. These satellites collect energy in space and transmit it to terrestrial solar installations in the form of low-intensity near-infrared light.
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How Space Solar Power Really 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 grid,” Meta said in a blog post.
Existing solar parks will receive the transmitted energy and convert it into electricity in the same way they handle direct sunlight.
This means that facilities that currently sit idle at night can continue to produce power 24 hours a day without requiring additional land or grid infrastructure.
Because the technology builds on existing solar infrastructure rather than requiring new installations, it can come online at scale more quickly than traditional builds.
Meta has secured a capacity reserve of up to 1 GW of this orbit-to-grid power to support its data center operations.
Overview’s orbital demonstration is planned for 2028, marking the first time the system is scheduled to transmit power wirelessly from space to a solar farm on Earth.
In addition to space solar systems, Meta is also investing in long-duration storage because the grid needs storage that can transport clean energy for long periods.
Meta has partnered with Noon Energy to deploy ultra-long duration energy storage using modular, reversible solid oxide fuel cells and carbon-based storage.
This technology provides more than 100 hours of energy storage, far more than current lithium-ion batteries can offer.
Early technology, high stakes
Meta has contracted more than 30 GW of clean, renewable energy to date, representing billions in capital investments.
The company is also one of the largest corporate buyers of nuclear power in US history, supporting 7.7 GW with multiple suppliers.
These solar and storage technologies are early days, and that’s exactly why Meta is supporting them now rather than waiting for them to mature.
If Overview’s orbital demonstration is successful, commercial delivery to the US grid could begin as early as 2030.
However, power has never been transmitted from space to Earth on a commercial scale before, and the efficiency of that transmission has not yet been demonstrated.
The infrastructure necessary to receive and convert the energy transmitted through hundreds of solar parks does not yet exist.
Noon Energy’s carbon-based storage technology also faces questions about life cycle, degradation and manufacturing scale.
This means Meta is placing big bets on unproven technologies because the payoff, if successful, would be transformative.
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