US tech giants Meta and Microsoft have both respectively signed solar PV agreements with developers Cypress Creek Renewables and Silicon Ranch.
Meta signed an Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreement (EAPA) with Cypress Creek Renewables, which will enable the latter to build a 505MW solar PV plant in Texas.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
This agreement aims to support the tech company’s goal to match its operations with 100% clean and renewable energy.
The solar developer will own and operate the Hanson Solar project, which will be located in Coleman County and connected to the Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT) grid.
Construction on the solar PV plant is expected to begin later this year, with commercial operations to begin in 2027.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Meta and provide them with the clean energy needed to support their data center operations and sustainability goals,” Sarah Slusser, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewable.
This is the latest EAPA Meta has secured in the state of Texas this year. Last month, the tech giant signed another EAPA in Texas with utility Engie for a 200MW solar PV plant and last year it secured several other EAPAs in Texas and Indiana.
Meta is the leading private company in the US in terms of solar PV procurements, followed by fellow tech companies Amazon and Google. Between 2018 and the first quarter of 2024, Meta signed supply deals for over 5GW of solar power capacity.
Silicon Ranch partners with Microsoft to deploy up to 100MW PV projects
Microsoft has also inked a multi-year agreement with US developer Silicon Ranch through its carbon solutions platform Clearloop.
Though slightly behind Meta, Microsoft was also among the ten US companies that purchased the most solar PV capacity since 2018. Its multi-year agreement with Silicon Ranch will allow the tech giant to further increase its share of solar PV purchased across the US.
Under the agreement, Clearloop will deploy up to 100MW of community-focused solar PV projects. The solar portfolio based on the multi-year agreement will be developed, owned and operated by Silicon Ranch.
Over the next three years, Silicon Ranch said it will develop solar PV projects in historically underinvested communities in the US states of Arkansas and Louisiana.
The first four solar PV projects from the agreement are expected to break ground over the next few months, with three of them located in Arkansas and the other in Louisiana.
Both companies previously collaborated on a 6.6MW PV plant in the Mississippi Delta. That project began commercial operations during the Summer of 2024.
