US energy utility AES has signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with technology giant Meta for two solar PV projects in the US states of Texas and Kansas.
Located in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) market, the projects will have a combined capacity of 650MW and will power Meta’s data centre activities.
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The construction of a solar PV project in Kansas is more than needed in the Midwestern state. According to data from trade body the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Kansas sits last in solar PV installed in the US with only 172MW as of the end of 2024. This is the opposite of Texas, which is only second to California in total installed solar capacity, with 41GW at the end of 2024.
In Texas, Meta has secured several solar PV-related agreements this year alone, including PPAs and Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreements (EAPAs) with Sunraycer Renewables, RWE, Cypress Creek Renewables and Avangrid, among others.
Many of the agreements signed in Texas, including the one with AES, are aimed at supporting Meta’s data centre activities in the state.
“We are thrilled to work with AES to bring forward these two solar energy projects,” said Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy, Meta. “These solutions support our goal for 100% clean and renewable energy and will add new generation to the grid in these markets.”
AES has now signed 10.1GW of contractual arrangements with major global hyperscalers, including 7.7GW of long-term PPAs to build renewable energy capacity that supports their data centre energy needs.
Global electricity demand for data centres to double by 2030
A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the global electricity demand for data centres and artificial intelligence will more than double from current levels by 2030 to 945TWh annually.
Moreover, during a panel discussion hosted at Solar Media’s Renewables Procurement & Revenue Summit, held this week in London, PPAs and virtual PPAs were considered as the most effective way to meet the growing demand for electricity among data centres in Europe, despite being “imperfect”.
“In a perfect world we would have a solution available in place that’s quick to market and 100% renewable 100% of the time,” said Robert White, head of energy at Ark Data Centres.
“It’s the same thing the grid wants, but the technology is not really there at the moment, so your options – if you’re producing not through the grid – are solar, wind and a number of [other] items.”
