On a whopping 4,600 acres of land in West Texas, a massive new solar farm – one of the largest in the United States – is now under construction. For Facebook, which is investing nearly half a billion dollars into the project, it’s the next big step into achieving the company’s goal to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2020.
While corporate renewable procurements have been on the rise, the behemoth’s announcement stands out for its unusual deal structure. Up until now, Facebook has only been signing power purchase agreements to acquire clean energy. Departing from that pattern, the tech giant will be the sole tax equity investor for this recent project.
This new deal shifts the company from energy subscriber to asset owner – a rarity in the corporate procurement world that could be a model for how other companies could procure renewable energy.
