Meta plans to power AI data centers from space, starting with 1GW capacity.

According to Insight Beating monitoring, Meta has announced a partnership with Overview Energy to reserve up to 1GW of space-based solar power capacity for future AI data center power supply.

Overview's plan is to place satellites in geostationary orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth, continuously soaking up sunlight in space, and then reflecting the low-intensity near-infrared beam back to ground-based solar power stations. The station converts this beam into electricity like regular sunlight and feeds it into the grid. This way, even after the sun sets, the ground station theoretically can continue generating power.

Meta has also partnered with Noon Energy to reserve up to 1GW/100GWh of ultra-long-duration energy storage capacity. Conventional lithium-ion batteries are typically better suited for a few hours of backup power, but Noon's selling point is using reversible solid oxide fuel cells and carbon-based storage to store clean power for over 100 hours. The first 25MW/2.5GWh pilot project is scheduled to be completed by 2028.

AI data centers need to run 24/7, while wind and solar power depend on weather and time of day. Meta has already signed contracts for over 30GW of clean and renewable energy and supports 7.7GW of nuclear power; space-based power is an earlier and riskier complement. Meta acknowledges that the technology is still in its early stages, and Overview plans a space demonstration by 2028; if successful, the U.S. grid may not receive commercial power until as early as 2030.