Canadian energy firm Enbridge will build a 600MW solar PV project in Texas with a power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with social media giant Meta.
Enbridge, which is most known for its natural gas pipeline business, reached final investment decision on the Clear Fork project today, which has an estimated cost of US$900 million. Construction at the site is already underway near San Antonio, Texas.
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Meta has signed a “long-term” PPA for all of the project’s output, which it said will power its data centre operations. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as well as AI platforms, has a growing presence in Texas after it reportedly planned to move its content and moderation staff to the state in January. Observers said the move was intended to curry favour with the incoming Trump administration, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted to prevent “censoring” of his moderation employees.
The company has inked several major PPAs in the state, notably with RWE Clean Energy and utility AES, mostly to power its data centres. Alongside China, the US is set to play a leading role in the development of data centre capacity over the next five years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that AI-driven data centre demand would more than double by 2030.
“Clear Fork demonstrates the growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies who are involved in technology and data centre operations,” said Matthew Akman, executive vice president, corporate strategy at Enbridge.
The announcement of the Clear Fork project and the Meta PPA comes at a pivotal moment for US solar. The Trump administration recently announced changes to the tax incentives for renewable energy projects – projects aiming to receive the 30% tax credits available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have to begin construction by 4th July 2026 or be operational by the end of 2027. Enbridge said this project is expected to be online in Summer 2027.
The industry can expect to see a flurry of project activity over the coming months as developers look to get solar projects over the line to secure the tax credit before the deadline, though most may not be as large as Clear Fork.
Amid less favourable US policies for renewable energy, AI and data centre demand has become a major discussion. Big tech firms were the largest corporate buyers of solar power in the US in 2024. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) warned in May that aggressive cuts to clean energy incentives, such as passed by Congress last month, could lead the US to “surrender the AI race” and fail to meet growing demand from data centres.
