Solar

Meta needs more clean energy credits and Arevon is happy to supply

Meta needs more clean energy credits and Arevon is happy to supply
The 60 MW Heirloom Solar Project in Pike County, Indiana (courtesy: Arevon)

Renewable developer Arevon Energy has partnered with Meta Platforms on a third utility-scale project, this one an Environmental Attributes Purchase Agreement (EAPA) for Arevon’s Heirloom Solar Project in Pike County, Indiana.

The Heirloom Solar Project recently started construction and is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of next year. Arevon will own and operate Heirloom, just like it will the Kelso Solar Project in Scott County, Missouri. Earlier this year, Meta and Arevon announced two EAPAs for that project, which utilizes 349 MWac of power to support Meta’s regional operations. The first phase of the Kelso Solar Project is anticipated to get underway in the fourth quarter of 2025.

EAPAs are distinct from Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The former are specifically for the credits, benefits, emissions reductions, environmental air-quality credits and emissions-reduction credits, offsets, and allowances resulting from the avoidance of the emission of a gas, chemical, or other substance attributable to the wind project during the term of the PPA, together with the right to report those credits, according to Stoel Rives LLP. Environmental attributes are sometimes referred to as “green tags,” “green tag reporting rights,” or “renewable-energy credits (RECs).”

“Arevon is proud to once again partner with Meta and contribute to their sustainability goal of
matching its operations with 100% renewable energy and reaching net zero emissions across
its value chain,” said Kevin Smith, chief executive officer at Arevon. “Pike County has been a
welcoming host to the Heirloom Solar Project, and we are excited to be a part of the community
for years to come.”

“We are pleased to work with Arevon again as we continue the important work of advancing the
transition to clean energy,” added Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy at Meta, which claims to meet 100% of its energy demand with renewable power and intends to reach net-zero emissions across its supply chain by 2030.

However, Meta is not among the 100s of global companies to sign the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, which commits to meeting every kilowatt-hour of electricity demand with carbon-free sources, every hour, every day, everywhere. Google and Microsoft have joined the Compact, among other major industry players.

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Meta is one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy, ranking second in 2023 only behind Amazon, per BloombergNEF. Meta purchased 3.05 GW, more than three times as much as Google. The entity formerly known as Facebook has been very active in inking EAPAs and PPAs with renewable energy developers in recent months, too.

Last week, RWE, the third-largest renewable energy company in the United States, announced it signed two long-term PPAs with Meta from two solar farms under construction: RWE’s 274 MWac County Run Solar project in Illinois and its 100 MWac Lafitte Solar project in Louisiana, with commissioning planned for both sites in late 2025.

In May, the company signed an EAPA with Pine Gate Renewables for the 204 MW Limewood Bell Solar Project in Texas, located seven miles from Meta’s Temple Data Center. Meta also signed a PPA to purchase 210 MW from two Indiana solar sites via Spanish company Solarpack. In December 2023, Meta signed a solar-plus-storage PPA with Ørsted to acquire the majority of electricity generated at Eleven Mile Solar Center to power its data center in nearby Mesa, Arizona.

To learn more about how some of Meta’s fellow tech giants are attempting to reach their clean energy goals in the headwinds of data center-driven growth, click here.