Meta announced a large solar power purchase agreement (PPA) in Texas while simultaneously powering some AI data centers with natural gas.

Apex Clean Energy and Meta have entered into a power purchase agreement that allows the technology company to financially benefit from energy generated from a solar project in Gonzales County, Texas. The 144-megawatt project would not have been built without Meta's backing, according to the energy developer.

However, the partnership raises questions about the company's commitment to renewable energy. Meta's parent company quietly exited Climate Group's RE100 renewable-energy initiative after a decade of membership earlier this year, even as Meta builds an expansive portfolio of energy-hungry data centers, totaling 28 sites in the United States as of April. Meta plans to power a new data center in El Paso with a 366-megawatt gas-fired plant.

In a statement to Inside Climate News, Meta said natural gas options are part of its data center expansion plans for artificial intelligence. The company added that the decision to exit RE100 holds no bearing on its commitment to clean energy, stating it has contributed more than 30 gigawatts of new clean energy to grids across the country to date and has retained its goal to match its electricity use with 100 percent "clean and renewable energy."

Under the new project, called Starling Solar, Meta will get to claim "all environmental attributes" from the energy production. This allows the company to offset some of the gas-fired energy powering its data centers when it tallies up its electricity use, though the gas power plants will have climate and local air-pollution impacts regardless.

Dennis Wamsted, energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, acknowledged Meta's efforts: "I applaud Meta for trying. They have been very active in the past in building out or paying for the build-out of renewable energy across the United States." However, he expressed concerns about the pace and approach. "I think in some regards they're taking what could be called the easy way out. While I am positive about their past impact on renewables, I am increasingly critical about their current approach, which is to build anything they can get their hands on as fast as they possibly can, and I don't think that we need AI quite that quickly." He added that wind and solar can be deployed rapidly to power AI infrastructure across the country.

Solar power has become an increasingly valuable resource in Texas. Apex expects the Starling Solar project to help bolster the state's grid, which encountered record-high demand this month that surpassed the 2023 record. The state is grappling with high temperatures and an influx of data centers, with Meta operating three locations in Texas.

In August, Governor Greg Abbott instructed utility regulators and the Texas grid operator to oversee an audit of every data center waiting to connect to the grid in ERCOT's interconnection process. The audit covers water consumption practices, local water supply sources, and whether facilities use water-efficient technologies. Data centers that fail to comply will be denied interconnection.

Renewables made up about a third of Texas's in-state electricity last year, generating revenue for landowners—particularly farmers and ranchers—through lease payments for transactions like Meta's power purchase agreement. Meta and Apex expect Starling to generate $27 million in tax revenue over the life of the project, $26.3 million in landowner payments, and an estimated 400 to 450 jobs during the construction phase. Starling is scheduled to begin operations next year.