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Meta has signed a power purchase agreement tied to Apex Clean Energy’s 144-megawatt Starling Solar project in Gonzales County, Texas, which is expected to start operating next year. The project adds renewable energy to Meta’s portfolio, but it is less than half the capacity of a 366-megawatt gas-fired plant planned for the company’s El Paso data center.
Meta has signed a power purchase agreement tied to a 144-megawatt solar project in Gonzales County, Texas, but the project is less than half the size of a 366-megawatt gas-fired plant planned to serve the company’s El Paso data center. The deal supports new renewable generation, while highlighting the scale of Meta’s planned gas use as it expands energy-intensive data centers for artificial intelligence.
The project, called Starling Solar, is being developed by Apex Clean Energy. Under the agreement, Meta can financially benefit from the electricity produced and claim all environmental attributes associated with its generation. Apex said the project would not have been built without Meta’s backing. Starling is scheduled to begin operating next year.
Meta told Inside Climate News that natural gas is among the options it is considering as it expands data centers for AI. The company said its departure earlier this year from Climate Group’s RE100 initiative does not change its clean-energy commitment. Meta also said it has contributed more than 30 gigawatts of new clean energy to grids across the United States and retains a goal of matching its electricity use with 100 percent “clean and renewable energy.”
The planned El Paso gas plant has 366 megawatts of capacity, compared with Starling Solar’s 144 megawatts. Those capacity figures show the projects’ relative size; they do not, by themselves, establish how much electricity either facility will generate over time or how much of Meta’s total demand each will supply.
Solar Support Meets Rising Gas Demand
The agreement matters because it adds a new solar project to Texas’s power supply as the state faces record-high electricity demand and rising demand from data centers. Apex expects Starling to bolster the grid. The project is also projected by Meta and Apex to generate $27 million in tax revenue over its life, provide $26.3 million in landowner payments and create an estimated 400 to 450 construction jobs.
At the same time, the gas plant planned for El Paso points to a trade-off in Meta’s expansion. Renewable-energy credits and environmental attributes can help a company account for clean generation against its electricity use, but they do not prevent a gas plant from producing greenhouse-gas emissions and local air pollution. The two developments therefore raise questions about how Meta’s clean-energy goals will relate to the actual sources powering its growing data-center footprint.
Dennis Wamsted, an energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said AI development does not have to come at the expense of renewable energy. He praised Meta’s earlier renewable-energy work but criticized what he described as the speed and fuel choices in its current build-out.
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Meta’s Texas Energy Expansion
Meta had 28 data-center sites in the United States as of April, according to the source report, and the company has three locations in Texas. Its expansion is taking place as Texas manages high temperatures, growing electricity demand and an influx of data centers. Renewables supplied about one-third of Texas in-state electricity last year, according to the report.
Earlier this year, Meta ended a decade of membership in the RE100 initiative, which promotes corporate commitments to renewable electricity. Meta said that decision does not affect its clean-energy commitment. Separately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed utility regulators and the state grid operator to audit data centers waiting to connect to the ERCOT grid, including their water use and sources. The directive says facilities that fail to comply will be denied interconnection.
“The decision to exit Climate Group’s RE100 renewable-energy initiative holds no bearing on its commitment to clean energy.”
— Meta, in a statement to Inside Climate News
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How the Projects Will Power Meta
The available information does not specify how much of Meta’s electricity demand Starling Solar will meet, whether its output will be delivered directly to Meta’s facilities, or how the company will account for the project alongside the El Paso gas plant. The 144-megawatt and 366-megawatt figures are capacity measures, not a direct comparison of annual electricity generation or emissions.
The source report does not provide a construction schedule or operating date for the planned El Paso gas plant, nor details about its expected emissions. Meta’s statement describes its clean-energy goal but does not explain how that goal will be measured as its data-center load grows. Those details will affect how readers can evaluate the balance between the company’s renewable-energy procurement and its use of gas.
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Starling’s Scheduled Start
Apex and Meta say Starling Solar is scheduled to begin operations next year. The next clear milestone is whether the project meets that schedule and begins delivering its expected generation to the Texas grid. The reported material does not give a completion date for the El Paso gas plant.
Texas regulators and the grid operator are also expected to carry out the data-center interconnection audit ordered by Gov. Abbott. Its findings may provide more information about queued facilities’ electricity and water needs. Further details from Meta on the timing, output and emissions of its El Paso plans would help clarify how the gas development fits with its stated clean-energy target.
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Key Questions
What did Meta agree to support in Texas?
Meta signed a power purchase agreement tied to Apex Clean Energy’s 144-megawatt Starling Solar project in Gonzales County. The project is scheduled to begin operating next year.
How large is the gas plant planned for El Paso?
Meta plans to power a new data center in El Paso with a 366-megawatt gas-fired plant. That is more than twice Starling Solar’s stated capacity, though capacity alone does not show how much electricity either project will produce over a year.
Does the solar agreement mean Meta will stop using gas?
No. The report says Meta is planning the El Paso gas plant and has described natural gas as an option for its AI data-center expansion. The solar agreement does not establish that the gas plant will be canceled or that it will not operate.
What does Meta say about its clean-energy commitment?
Meta said leaving the RE100 initiative does not affect its clean-energy commitment. It said it has contributed more than 30 gigawatts of new clean energy to U.S. grids and retains a goal of matching its electricity use with 100 percent “clean and renewable energy.”
When is Starling Solar expected to start operating?
The project is scheduled to begin operations next year. The source report does not provide a specific date or a construction milestone schedule.
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