Facebook makes first direct investment into renewables

The social media giant will be the sole tax equity investor for a 379MW solar project in Texas

Facebook has made its first direct investment into renewables with a 379MW solar project in Texas.

US renewable energy developer, owner and operator Longroad Energy has announced the financial close and start of construction of its Prospero Solar project in Andrews County, with a financing package totalling $416 million (£329m).

Once it reaches completion in 2020, the 379MW facility is expected to be one of the largest solar farms in the US, spread over 4,600 acres.

Facebook will be the sole tax equity investor for the project, although Shell Energy North America has signed a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement for the project’s power off-take.

Peter Freed, Energy Strategy Manager at Facebook, said: “Facebook is excited to be one of the first companies to use a direct investment to meet our renewable energy goals.

“We hope such investments can be a new avenue of meaningfully engaging with projects, which might be easier for some companies than a long-term power purchase agreement, thereby unlocking new options for more organisations to meet their goals and grow the market.”

The social media giant previously signed a long term renewable energy agreement with Vattenfall to power its data centres.

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