{"id":659673,"date":"2025-03-31T09:20:17","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T06:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/"},"modified":"2025-03-31T09:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T06:20:17","slug":"data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/","title":{"rendered":"Data centers love solar: Here&#8217;s a comprehensive guide to deals over 100 megawatts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df9588d48d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df9588d48d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/#January\" >January<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/#February\" >February<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/#March\" >March<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/#More_deals_likely\" >More deals likely<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rush to capitalize on the buzz around AI has led tech companies to dramatically expand their data center footprints. That\u2019s been good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> for companies like Nvidia, but it has also led to unprecedented growth in the power industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New and expanded data centers are expected to double the sector\u2019s power demand by 2029, according to JLL. As a result, developers and tech companies have been working overtime to lock in capacity. Nuclear and natural gas have gotten boosts from the forecasted demand, but few technologies have benefited in the near term like solar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though solar power suffers from what experts call intermittency \u2014 it won\u2019t produce if the sun isn\u2019t shining \u2014\u00a0the upsides have been so significant that companies have been inking large deals at a rapid pace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike advanced nuclear reactors, which have yet to be deployed at commercial scale, solar power is proven <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. And unlike new natural gas power plants, which take years to plan and construct, the average completion time for a new solar farm is <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S030626192301927X#s0045\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">about 18 months<\/a>. Plus, it\u2019s one of the lowest-cost sources of new generating capacity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the start of 2025, tech companies and data center operators have backed 12 solar deals, each adding more than 100 megawatts of capacity to the grid.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-january\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"January\"><\/span>January<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meta kicked off the year with a 200-megawatt solar deal with multinational electric utility Engie. The purchase went toward a solar farm near one of the company\u2019s existing data centers in Texas. At the time of the deal, Meta already had over 12 gigawatts of generating capacity in its renewable portfolio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later in January, the Stargate AI partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Group was reported by Bloomberg to be powered, at least in part, by solar. SB Energy, which is part of SoftBank\u2019s portfolio, is expected to develop solar installations backed by grid-scale batteries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meta closed out the month with another massive solar deal, this one with Spanish renewable developer Zelestra. The contract was for 595 megawatts of capacity.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-february\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"February\"><\/span>February<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meta continued its streak in February, investing in a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datacenterdynamics.com\/en\/news\/meta-inks-solar-eapa-with-cyprus-creek-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">505-megawatt solar project<\/a> with Cypress Creek Renewables, which is developing the massive installation in Coleman County, Texas \u2014 about 150 miles northwest of Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Microsoft entered the fray in February, too. The company has long been a buyer of renewable energy to power its operations, and added another 389 megawatts of solar in a deal with EDP Renewables North America. The contract covers three different solar farms, two in Illinois and one in Texas. The purchases have helped Microsoft stay on top of its pledge to power its operations using zero carbon power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amazon also made a big purchase, backing a hybrid project on the Iberian Peninsula that includes wind, solar, and pumped-hydroelectric storage. The deal included 476 megawatts total, of which 212 megawatts are solar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outside of the U.S., data center operators have also been investing in solar. In India, CtrlS built its own <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datacenterdynamics.com\/en\/news\/ctrls-completes-125mw-solar-farm-to-power-mumbai-campus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">125-megawatt facility<\/a> in two phases, the first half of which was finished in June 2024 with the second completed in early February. In South America, Telecom Argentina agreed to buy electricity from a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datacenterdynamics.com\/en\/news\/telecom-argentina-signs-ten-year-solar-power-deal-with-msu-green-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">130-megawatt solar farm<\/a> developed by MSU Green Energy.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-march\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"March\"><\/span>March<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Microsoft added another three solar developments in March, again focusing on the Midwest. The projects span Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, and they\u2019re being developed by AES. Together, they will provide Microsoft with 475 megawatts of capacity, adding to its considerable 34-gigawatt portfolio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cisco got in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> with a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datacenterdynamics.com\/en\/news\/cisco-signs-100mw-ppa-with-x-elio-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">100-megawatt deal<\/a> with X-Elio, a solar developer owned by Brookfield, an asset manager that has <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/05\/01\/microsoft-brookfield-to-develop-more-than-10point5-gigawatts-of-renewable-energy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">bet big<\/a> on renewables. The power purchase agreements see Cisco buying capacity from two different Texas solar projects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meta added another 200 megawatts of solar to its portfolio in March in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/story\/business\/technology\/2025\/03\/20\/meta-rwe-solar-project-bastrop-texas-data-center-operations\/82545205007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a deal with RWE<\/a>. The solar farm will be built just southeast of Austin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Italy, data center operator Data4 signed a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.datacenterdynamics.com\/en\/news\/data4-signs-ten-year-ppa-with-edison-energia-for-500gwh-of-solar-power-in-italy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">10-year deal<\/a> with utility Edison Energia to buy power from a 148-megawatt solar farm northwest of Rome.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-deals-likely\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_deals_likely\"><\/span>More deals likely<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As tech companies race to add AI to seemingly every product and possible market, data centers have been expanding to keep pace. That growth requires power, and few technologies are as well positioned as solar power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Utility-scale solar is already <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lazard.com\/research-insights\/levelized-cost-of-energyplus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">one of the cheapest<\/a> forms of new generating capacity without counting subsidies, undercutting everything except onshore wind. It\u2019s also quick to deploy\u00a0and can be commissioned in phases, allowing data centers to draw power before the entire project is finished.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those qualities have combined to give solar a near-term advantage, racking up deals with Big Tech companies and data center developers. It\u2019s a trend that\u2019s likely to continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/03\/30\/data-centers-love-solar-heres-a-comprehensive-guide-to-deals-over-100-megawatts\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rush to capitalize on the buzz around AI has led tech companies to dramatically expand their data center footprints. That\u2019s been good news for companies like Nvidia, but it has also led to unprecedented growth in the power industry. New and expanded data centers are expected to double the sector\u2019s power demand by 2029,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":659674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1207758836.jpeg?resize=1200,800","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[75885,122306,2758,130390,79398,77143,153835,151410,26293,70286,81125],"class_list":["post-659673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-enterprise","tag-meta","tag-amazon","tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","tag-cisco","tag-climate","tag-data-centers","tag-evergreens","tag-google","tag-microsoft","tag-solar-power"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}