{"id":31989,"date":"2025-08-24T20:12:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T03:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/meta-silicon-ranch-partner-on-solar-farm-for-south-carolina-data-center\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T20:12:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T03:12:36","slug":"meta-silicon-ranch-partner-on-solar-farm-for-south-carolina-data-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/meta-silicon-ranch-partner-on-solar-farm-for-south-carolina-data-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta, Silicon Ranch partner on solar farm for South Carolina data center"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">3 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1755784322\/news\/text_to_speech\/meta-silicon-ranch-south-carolina-solar-farm_rwj1jx.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Dive Brief:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Social media giant Meta will partner with solar and community energy infrastructure company Silicon Ranch to bring a 100-megawatt solar farm to South Carolina to help power Meta\u2019s data center in the state, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.siliconranch.com\/stories\/silicon-ranch-partner-meta-orangeburg-county\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Silicon Ranch announced Tuesday<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Silicon Ranch is making a $100 million investment in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, and Meta will receive all of the renewable energy credits from the facility, according to the release. The project will require no community or utility investments, Silicon Ranch told ESG Dive Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The solar farm is expected to come online in 2027, the same year as Meta\u2019s data center in Aiken, South Carolina. Meta said recently it successfully <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esgdive.com\/news\/meta-piloting-mass-timber-for-sustainable-data-center-construction-clt-green-building\/756843\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>piloted the use of mass timber<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> to construct an administration building on the future data center\u2019s Aiken campus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Dive Insight:<\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Meta \u2014 owner of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp \u2014 is one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy and has reported net-zero scope 1 and scope 2 emissions since 2020, primarily by matching its data center energy use with renewables over that span, according to its <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainability.atmeta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Meta-2024-Sustainability-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>2024 environmental report<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The deal is the 18th between Silicon Ranch and Meta, which collectively represent \u201cwell over 1,500 MW of renewable energy capacity\u201d and $2.5 billion in investments from Silicon Ranch, according to the announcement. The partnerships include energy infrastructure projects in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and the new South Carolina solar farm. Silicon Ranch, which is based in Nashville, Tennessee, told ESG Dive that not all of the projects have been publicly announced.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThis deal reflects the fact that an all-of-the-above energy strategy is necessary to power our growing economy,\u201d Silicon Ranch said in an email. \u201cToday, our country needs more energy than ever before, and we can do so in a way that supports American manufacturing, strengthens our infrastructure, and brings jobs and investment to rural communities.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Central Electric Power Cooperative, a Columbia, South Carolina, energy generation and transmission cooperative, is also a partner in the deal and will purchase energy from the solar farm for its member portfolio, the release said. Central Electric represents 19 electric distribution cooperatives across the state, including Aiken Electric Cooperative, which will serve Meta\u2019s data center.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For Meta, the deal follows a July announcement to purchase all of the energy generated by a 600 MW solar plant being built in Texas by Enbridge. Alberta-based Enbridge announced a $900 million investment to complete the project, which is also expected to come online in 2027.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Both deals follow the passage last month of a Republican budget law, which <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esgdive.com\/news\/senate-megabill-wind-solar-tax-trump-tillis-collins-\/752196\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>created new restrictions for wind and solar projects<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> to qualify for previously enacted tax credits. The Department of Treasury recently issued new guidelines on what qualifies as \u201cbegins construction\u201d for the new law\u2019s purpose, saying construction for wind and solar \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esgdive.com\/news\/treasury-commence-construction-wind-solar-tax-credits-five-percent\/757989\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>begins when physical work of a significant nature begins<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/meta-silicon-ranch-south-carolina-solar-farm\/758257\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive &#8230; <a title=\"Meta, Silicon Ranch partner on solar farm for South Carolina data center\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/meta-silicon-ranch-partner-on-solar-farm-for-south-carolina-data-center\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Meta, Silicon Ranch partner on solar farm for South Carolina data center\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}