Meta Partners With Overview Energy to Power AI Data Centers From Space Solar
Meta has partnered with Overview Energy to explore powering its AI data centers via near-infrared light beamed from a planned 1,000-satellite geostationary network, where sunlight is constant 24/7 above cloud cover. Meta's data centers consumed 18,000 GWh of electricity in 2025 — enough to power 1.7 million US homes for a year. Existing ground-based solar farms would serve as receivers, converting the near-infrared light to electricity without hardware modification.
Why It Matters
Hyperscaler energy constraints are pushing power supply innovation beyond terrestrial grids. Continuous space-based solar would decouple AI data center growth from weather, grid capacity, and local permitting — a strategic infrastructure bet as AI compute demand continues to compound.