Zuckerberg's Meta will beam sunlight from space to power AI data centers, solar-collecting satellites will orbit 22,000 miles above Earth — firm reserves 1 Gigawatt of orbital solar energy and 100 Gigawatt-hours of long-duration storage

Satellite beams down sunlight from space.

Meta announced in a press release on Monday that it had begun plans to power its AI data centers with sunlight beamed from space. The company plans to place solar-collecting satellites in geosynchronous orbit roughly 22,000 miles above Earth to beam the sunlight to collectors on the Earth's surface. The plan is part of two new partnerships aimed at solving the rising energy demands of the company’s rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.

The company said it has reserved up to 1 Gigawatt of capacity from space solar startup Overview Energy, alongside another deal with energy storage firm Noon Energy for up to 1 GW / 100 Ggigawatt-hour of ultra-long-duration energy storage.