Meta is taking its clean energy ambitions to new heights — literally. The social media giant has announced a partnership with Overview Energy to develop space-based solar collection, addressing one of renewable energy’s biggest limitations: downtime during darkness.
Overview Energy’s satellites will orbit roughly 22,000 miles above Earth in geosynchronous orbit, where sunlight is uninterrupted. The satellites will collect energy continuously and beam it down to existing ground-based solar facilities as low-intensity, near-infrared light, effectively turning part-time solar plants into round-the-clock power sources.
Building on Existing Infrastructure
What makes the proposal particularly compelling is its approach to scalability. Rather than constructing entirely new facilities, the technology integrates with solar infrastructure already in place. Meta argues this allows the system to come online faster and at greater scale than conventional energy buildouts — a critical advantage as its AI data centers demand ever-increasing power.
Long-Duration Storage Gets a Boost
Meta is also partnering with Noon Energy to tackle storage. Noon’s technology uses modular, reversible solid oxide fuel cells paired with carbon-based storage, offering over 100 hours of energy retention — a dramatic improvement over today’s lithium-ion batteries, which typically store energy for just a few hours.
Together, these two partnerships form a broader strategy by Meta to build independent, sustainable power sources for its AI operations. The effort aligns with the White House’s AI action plan, which calls for expanding America’s power grid alongside AI development, ensuring large-scale tech infrastructure doesn’t come at the expense of everyday consumers.