Meta Seeks to Power Data Centers With Energy Beamed From Space

Meta Platforms Inc. is looking to power artificial intelligence data centers with solar energy collected in space, taking a novel approach to meeting its insatiable demand for electricity.

The company said Monday that it clinched a deal for up to 1 gigawatt of space solar energy from Overview Energy, a startup seeking to collect sunlight in satellites orbiting Earth and convert it into electricity to support the grid. A gigawatt is roughly equivalent to the power generated by a nuclear reactor.

Overview Energy’s vision for a space-based power plant that beams energy back to Earth is still hypothetical. The startup ...