Meta: rPlus Energies signs 200MW PPA with Idaho Power, supporting Meta

rPlus Energies has announced that it has signed a 200MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Idaho Power, which has a special energy services agreement with Meta; output from the project will go into the same grid supporting Meta's new Kuna data center. 

The Ada County, Idaho solar farm, known as the Pleasant Valley Solar project, is pegged to create around 220 jobs, with the scheme the largest contracted solar project in the Idaho Power system to date.

Speaking about this deal and the wider environmental implications, Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy at Meta said:"Meta is committed to minimizing our environmental footprint in the communities where we live and work, and central to this goal is creating, building, and running energy-efficient data centers supported by renewable energy."

According to Parekh, one of the "core factors" in selecting Idaho for its new data center location in 2022 was the access to renewable energy. "Meta is proud to partner with Idaho Power and rPlus Energies to help bring even more renewable energy to the Treasure Valley grid," he said. 

Meanwhile, rPlus Energies president and CEO Luigi Resta highlighted the benefits of the "plentiful" sunshine in Idaho. "We at rPlus Energies are proud to help the state achieve a commonsense approach to energy independence and utilize the abundant energy source to its full potential," he said. Resta outlined that the Pleasant Valley Solar project will play a "critical role" in supplying reliable and resilient renewable energy alongside facilitating  economic growth and job opportunities to the state.

Idaho Power President and CEO Lisa Grow called the deal an "important milestone" for Idaho Power. "Pleasant Valley will not only become the largest solar project on our system, but it's also an example of how our proposed Clean Energy Your Way program can help us partner with customers to meet their own clean energy goals. We look forward to working with Meta as the future of clean energy takes shape in Idaho, including Idaho Power's own goal to provide 100% clean energy to its customers by 2045,"  Grow said. 

 Idaho Power is reportedly aiming to run and provide 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Currently, 20 percent of its energy is coal-based, but this will be phased out by 2030, with the company relying instead on solar and wind power supported by batteries.

Construction on Pleasant Valley Solar is pegged to begin later this year.