Meta to power its bit barns with energy from space
Facebook provider also working with energy storage firm to keep 100 hours of juice on hand With AI demand growing, Facebook parent Meta is looking for new ways to power its datacenters, with one ambitious project pledging to send solar power down from orbit. Another agreement offers Meta the opportunity to store enough power to keep its bit barns going, even when the grid is over capacity or down.…
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On-Prem 22 Meta to power its bit barns with energy from space 22 Facebook provider also working with energy storage firm to keep 100 hours of juice on hand Dan Robinson Mon 27 Apr 2026 // 15:47 UTC With AI demand growing, Facebook parent Meta is looking for new ways to power its datacenters, with one ambitious project pledging to send solar power down from orbit. Another agreement offers Meta the opportunity to store enough power to keep its bit barns going, even when the grid is over capacity or down. Zuck-corp says the speed and scale at which it is expanding its AI capabilities calls for more energy, but says today's clean energy technologies have real limits. For this reason, it has made an agreement with Overview Energy that will see Meta get early access to up to 1 GW of power from Overview's space energy system. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> The startup says it plans to collect solar energy in space and beam it to facilities on the ground, where it will be converted into electricity, and those facilities will be able to produce power around the clock. It is planning to eventually field a 1,000 unit constellation to beam solar power to Earth. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae_u4zeZw8uf34HD8m_PxwAAAgY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> Overview plans an initial orbital demonstration in 2028, while commercial power delivery is expected in 2030, meaning this is another mid-to-long term bet by Meta. Overview Energy emerged from stealth late last year with a demonstration of a light aircraft sending power to a solar installation on the ground from an altitude of 3 miles (5 kilometers). <a…
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