Meta has signed an agreement with startup Overview Energy to potentially use satellites to beam infrared light to solar farms, enabling data centers to draw power even after sunset. The deal marks a novel approach to meeting the soaring energy demands of AI computing.
In 2024, Meta's data centers consumed over 18,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity—enough to power more than 1.7 million U.S. homes for a year. To support its growing compute needs, the company has pledged to build 30 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, focusing on large-scale solar plants. However, solar power alone cannot run data centers at night without expensive battery storage or backup generation.
Overview Energy, a four-year-old startup based in Ashburn, Virginia, proposes a different solution. The company plans to launch spacecraft that harvest solar energy in orbit, convert it into near-infrared light, and beam it down to large solar farms (hundreds of megawatts in size). Those farms would then convert the infrared light into electricity, effectively providing round-the-clock solar power.
By using a wide, infrared beam aimed at existing terrestrial solar infrastructure, Overview aims to avoid the technical and safety hurdles that have plagued other space-based power concepts. The agreement with Meta is a small but significant step toward commercializing space-to-earth power delivery.