Meeting Big Tech’s Clean Energy Demand Through Solar in the U.S.

Fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence and its enormous demand for computational power, data centers are rapidly expanding across the United States. Tech giants have committed billions of dollars to building the infrastructure needed to handle surging AI-driven demand. Analysts project the global data center market could surpass $1 trillion by 2034, with North America contributing a significant market share, underscoring just how critical this infrastructure has become to the digital economy and technology innovation.  

The energy intensiveness of data centers has put mounting pressure on U.S. sustainability targets. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers are projected to account for nearly half of the growth in U.S. power demand by 2030, creating both a challenge and an opportunity for leaders in the renewable technology sector and sustainability-minded banks like Societe Generale. 

1000 Mile, a new solar project in Texas to meet Meta’s data centers power demand

Longroad Energy, a Boston-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, has built a strong track record developing wind, solar and battery projects across the U.S. to support the country’s transition to clean energy. To help meet renewable energy demand for the data center market, Longroad is building a new 400 MWdc solar project in Yoakum County, Texas, titled 1000 Mile. Under a long-term offtake agreement in the form of an Environmental Attributes Purchase Agreement, the entire output of 1000 Mile will be delivered into the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) grid to help meet the growing demand for power from Meta’s data center operations. 

1000 Mile represents Longroad’s seventh renewable energy project in Texas, and its first in the SPP region. The project brings Longroad’s total successfully developed utility-scale projects in Texas to 2.1 GW across all three major RTO regions: ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator), and SPP (Southwest Power Pool). 

The output of 1000 Mile is expected to avoid approximately 475,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, which is notably higher than comparable solar projects in the U.S according to RESurety. As with all of Longroad’s existing solar facilities in Texas, 1000 Mile will utilize photovoltaic technology developed by First Solar. 

Societe Generale led the ~$510 million debt financing for 1000 Mile alongside Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Last summer, Societe Generale led financing for Longroad’s Serrano project, a vast solar and energy storage project in Arizona. 

The 1000 Mile project is expected to achieve commercial operations in 2026. During peak construction, the project will employ over 400 workers and contribute to more than $18 million in tax revenue to Yoakum Country over its lifetime. 

Ahmed Maqsood, a banker in Societe Generale’s Energy + Group, said, “The acceleration of data center capacity growth needed to promote AI and other cutting edge digital applications is requiring significant energy output from all sources of power – renewables and conventional. Societe Generale has long been committed to financing sustainable infrastructure that encourages digital innovation while furthering the global transition to clean energy. We’re proud to work with Longroad Energy once again and look forward to following the construction of the 1000 Mile project through next year.”