Meta has agreed to develop a US$100 million, 100-megawatt solar farm in South Carolina with solar developer Silicon Ranch.

The solar facility will supply power to Meta’s planned AI data center in the state, which is expected to cost US$800 million.

Both the data center and the solar farm are scheduled to start operations in 2027.

Most equipment for the solar installation will be produced in the US, the companies said.

This marks the eighteenth agreement between Meta and Silicon Ranch.

Silicon Ranch said its deals with Meta have helped drive over US$2.5 billion in investments.

Meta has added more than 2 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2025. The company is also pursuing additional solar projects in Ohio, Kansas, and Texas.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Data centers are driving strategic co-location of renewable energy projects

Meta’s South Carolina deal reveals how tech giants are increasingly pairing data center construction directly with renewable energy development to solve two critical business challenges simultaneously.

The company is spending $100 million on a 100-megawatt solar farm alongside its $800 million AI data center, with both facilities scheduled to begin operations in 2027 1. This represents about 12.5% of the total project cost dedicated specifically to energy infrastructure.

The timing alignment is crucial because solar power helps reduce “time-to-power,” which the companies identified as “a key bottleneck for any new data center” 1.

This approach has proven successful for Meta before. Their Virginia data center operation sources 100% renewable energy through a partnership with Dominion Energy, while committing $1.5 billion total across multiple buildings 2.

The strategy addresses both cost management and operational speed, as renewable projects can often be deployed faster than waiting for traditional grid capacity upgrades in high-demand areas.

2️⃣ AI expansion is creating unprecedented energy infrastructure investment

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