Meta has been pushing AI since Mark Zuckerberg founded FAIR (Facebook AI Research) in 2013.
The company continues to stamp its global footprint with large-scale data centers.
But there’s a price. And it’s paid in enormous amounts of electrical power.
Solar and wind solutions are falling short, so the tech giant is looking beyond what Earth has to offer.
Will Meta pull off an energy revolution, or is the project too ambitious for the times?
How AI is pushing energy demands to a critical point
The artificial intelligence boom has birthed an unprecedented need.
Tech companies have to source massive loads of energy, and this is increasing daily.
We know that AI at scale is extremely energy-intensive. So Meta, being a trailblazer in the field, has decided to move power generation closer to the sun.
Current systems have shortcomings. Grid expansion and reliable power procurement are constraints, especially for rapid AI growth.
Solar on Earth is as intermittent as sunshine, just like the wind isn’t always blowing.
Current electric grids have far from adequate storage capacity.
The development and installation of supporting infrastructure cannot keep up with the demands on the renewable industry.
But the data centers must continue their work without interruptions.
Fluctuations in supply are out of the question.
There’s a mismatch between the constant demand and the inconsistent supply. What’s Meta’s plan to remove the bottleneck?
A new partnership that launches solar power into space
Meta is not just developing a power plant. They’re not simply purchasing renewable energy credits either.
Instead, the company has partnered with Overview Energy to create a space-based solar energy system.
Orbital setups are levelling up energy generation into space where the sun never sets.
Meta’s part in the agreement is access to electricity. Up to one gigawatt of capacity from space.
This is enough electricity to power 750,000 homes at the same time—a city the size of San Francisco. But it will be entirely dedicated to AI.
It’s not a single-station setup. A huge network will need to be coordinated—a significantly complex undertaking.
Overview Energy‘s vision of a large-scale system sees around 1,000 satellites being deployed in space.
These specialized units will cycle in a geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above the equator.
This will ensure continuous, uninterrupted contact with the sun. The limitations of Earth-based energy systems mean nothing to orbital ones.
The project is aiming for an orbital test demonstration in 2028.
Commercial power delivery is targeted for 2030, just three years from now.
The cosmic solution: 1,000 satellites and one master plan
Meta has a specific goal: reliable energy around the clock.
While the issue of reliable sunlight is irrelevant here, we have questions.
How does this collected energy get to Earth? And why do they need a thousand satellites?
The plan has nothing to do with shooting giant, sci-fi lasers from the sky. And it’s not to build expensive receiving stations on Earth.
The strategy is to beam the energy down as safe, low-intensity near-infrared light, which travels easily through the atmosphere.
The benefits go beyond a consistent power supply
Here’s the bonus: the beams will be aimed directly at existing solar farms on Earth.
And here’s the genius: the system transforms traditional solar farms—which are normally useless at night—into 24/7 power plants.
All this without needing to secure a single acre of new land.
Meta is looking toward space and betting on steady solar power for growth. It’s likely that more companies will follow its lead.
This endeavor is not just changing the nature of the data center.
Before long, our homes may well be powered by energy collected in orbit.
Is space-based power on its way to becoming the norm in our lifetimes?