Facebook bets on solar and wind energy

Facebook expands renewable footprint and buys solar and wind energy in the United States and Ireland.
Corporate appetite for cheap clean energy has been a major recent factor influencing the growth of wind power

Facebook Inc. will purchase a large amount of wind power in the United States and Ireland to support its operations.

The social media giant – already one of the world’s largest corporate renewable energy consumers – has signed contracts to buy an additional 806 megawatts of solar and wind power, the company reported. The contracts support eight projects in Utah, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and Ireland, and involve several different developers, including Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and Apex Clean Energy.

The corporate appetite for cheap clean energy has been a major recent factor influencing the growth of wind and solar energy in the US and other regions. Tech giants like Facebook have spearheaded that push, in part to power their data centers.

Facebook has agreements for more than 5 gigawatts of clean energy, of which 2 gigawatts are currently operating. Another 1.5 gigawatts of wind and solar power are expected to come online by year-end.