Meta has signed two Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to procure solar energy in Ireland.
The social media firm signed long-term agreements with Irish renewables developer Highfield Energy to offtake the output of two operational solar farms in Meath and Wexford.
“I'm very pleased to share that Highfield Solar and Meta have signed two 15-year corporate power purchase agreements with a combined capacity of 276MWp,” Peter Kavangh, MD at Highfield Energy, said on LinkedIn over the weekend.
The deal – valued at €180 million ($189.8m) – will support Meta's operations in Ireland, including its data center campus in Clonee, County Meath. Both solar farms were financed and developed by Highfield Solar, and are now operational.
“This is a hugely significant deal for Highfield,” Kavanagh said. “This transaction is a testament to the quality of our assets and our ability to contract with experienced and sophisticated buyers, and we’re proud to partner with Meta on these projects. We’re also pleased to confirm that a Community Benefit Fund will be established for the duration of the agreement.”
Andrew Rudersdorf, energy manager at Meta, added: “We’re proud to partner with Highfield on one of the largest solar agreements in Ireland. With one solar farm in Wexford and one in Meath, which is close to our Clonee data center, these agreements significantly contribute to Meta’s goals of supporting our operations with 100 percent renewable energy and achieving net zero emissions for our value chain.”
Founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Irish developer Highfield Energy, German solar firm ib vogt, and UK-based developer Aura Power, Highfield Solar currently has 326MWp of solar projects in construction and a development pipeline of over 400MWp.
Clonee was Facebook's second data center in Europe, after its campus in Luleå, Sweden. Construction started in 2016, and plans were rapidly expanded. The facility opened in 2018, and in 2019, another increase was announced, which would double the site with two new buildings.
Meta has previously invested in Irish onshore wind farm projects. In 2016 the company signed a 10-year deal to procure around 150MW from Brookfield’s Irish wind assets. In 2020, the two companies signed another PPA for Meta to offtake from the 28.8MW Lisheen III Wind project in County Tipperary.
