On May 10, 2023, Helion Energy announced that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft to provide the company with electricity from its first fusion power plant.[1] Constellation Energy will serve as the power marketer and will manage transmission for the project. Helion’s fusion power plant is expected to be online by 2028, and the company is targeting power generation of 50 MW or greater after a 1-year ramp-up period. Helion has previously built six working prototypes and was the first private fusion company to reach 100-million-degree plasma temperatures with its sixth fusion prototype. Currently, the company is building its seventh prototype, which is expected to demonstrate the ability to produce electricity in 2024.

“We are optimistic that fusion energy can be an important technology to help the world transition to clean energy,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President at Microsoft. The development of a commercial fusion power facility will help Microsoft to achieve its goal of being carbon negative by 2030 and also support the development of a new clean energy source for the world.

[1] https://www.helionenergy.com/articles/helion-announces-worlds-first-fusion-ppa-with-microsoft/

On March 20, 2023, Avangrid, a U.S. subsidiary of Spanish utility Iberdrola, announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta to procure energy from its True North solar PV project.[1] True North is a 240 MW solar farm under development in Falls County, Texas, and Avangrid’s first solar facility in the state. The solar farm will deliver 240 MW of solar energy to Meta once it reaches commercial operations in early 2025. According to Avangrid, the project will create over 200 local jobs during its construction and operation and generate over $40 million in property taxes over 25 years.

Since 2020, Meta’s global operations have been supported by 100% renewable energy. The True North project will support Meta’s upcoming data center in nearby Temple, Texas, their second data center in Texas. With more than 8.6 GW of installed renewable capacity, including 1.1 GW of solar projects operating and under construction, Avangrid is the third largest renewable energy operator in the U.S. the company has more than 25 GW of clean energy under development, including solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, and battery energy storage.

[1] https://www.avangrid.com/w/avangrid-to-support-meta-s-operations-in-texas-with-new-240-mw-solar-farm