THE APEX TIMES
Meta-backed solar deal grows in Texas as Zelestra signs 180 MWdc Palmera PPA
Zelestra and Meta expanded their renewable energy collaboration with a new long-term power purchase agreement for the 180 MWdc Palmera solar project in Freestone County, Texas, adding to a growing portfolio of Meta-linked U.S. solar capacity.
Meta continues to build its U.S. renewable energy footprint through long-term power purchase agreements, and the latest project is a Texas utility-scale solar plant being developed by Zelestra. The companies said they have agreed to a new power purchase agreement, or PPA, for the Palmera Solar Plant, a project described as having 180 MWdc of capacity, located in Freestone County in the state of Texas.
The Palmera project is expected to provide additional contracted renewable electricity for Meta’s operations, according to the announcement reported by industry media. The deal is structured as a long-term arrangement in which an offtaker (here, Meta) contracts to buy power from the generator (the solar facility) over time, helping finance the construction and lowering long-run price uncertainty for the buyer.
Industry reporting on the announcement put the Palmera plant’s size at 180 MWdc, with an AC figure of about 140 MWac. The companies also indicated that the agreement is part of a broader expansion of their U.S. solar partnership, which has been designed to help Meta match operations with 100% clean energy.
With the addition of Palmera, the relationship has reached eight PPAs covering roughly 1.4 GWdc of solar capacity across the United States, with all projects expected to be operational by 2028, according to SolarQuarter. The same report said construction is continuing on other Meta-backed solar projects, including Zelestra’s 176 MWdc Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas and the 200 MWdc Reclamation Solar Project in Indiana.
The Skull Creek project is described as expected to support about 400 jobs at peak construction, and SolarQuarter reported additional details such as the use of bifacial solar modules (panels designed to capture sunlight from both sides). It also said McCarthy Building Companies was selected as lead EPC contractor for Skull Creek, referencing typical roles in solar delivery where an EPC contractor handles engineering, procurement, and construction.
Zelestra and Meta also pointed to an earlier milestone, with SolarQuarter reporting that the Jasper County Solar Project in Indiana, at 81 MWdc, has moved into full commercial operation. Commissioning and reaching full commercial operation generally mark the point at which a project can begin delivering power under its contracted terms, rather than only demonstrating performance during initial testing.
Still, several details were not available in the materials included for this roundup. The companies did not disclose pricing terms, contract length, or the specific electricity delivery structure (such as whether the PPA is fixed-price, indexed, or linked to specific crediting mechanisms) in the accessible excerpts. Nor was information provided here on whether Palmera’s commercial operation date is fully aligned with the 2028 portfolio expectation, or how much contracted capacity Meta expects to allocate to particular regions or load centers.
What to watch next is whether Palmera advances on the same timeline as the rest of the portfolio and how quickly the pipeline translates into contracted generation. Investors and policy watchers will likely focus on construction milestones, the share of U.S. capacity reaching commercial operations, and whether the project mix continues to emphasize solar as Meta’s primary clean-energy procurement tool in the near term.
Why It Matters
- The Palmera PPA reinforces the role of contracted renewable generation in Meta’s broader approach to supplying its operations with clean power.
- A multi-project portfolio spanning multiple states can reduce procurement volatility relative to spot-market buying, though the exact contract economics were not disclosed in the available text.
- For the solar sector, a growing pipeline of large contracted projects can support developer and supply-chain planning, especially for module and EPC capacity.
Sources
Key Facts
- Meta and Zelestra expanded their renewable energy collaboration with a new long-term power purchase agreement for the Palmera Solar Plant in Texas.
- The Palmera project is described as 180 MWdc (about 140 MWac) and located in Freestone County, Texas.
- Industry reporting says the deal increases the number of Meta-linked solar PPAs to eight, covering about 1.4 GWdc of solar capacity.
- SolarQuarter reported that the projects are expected to be operational by 2028.
- Construction is underway on the 176 MWdc Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas and the 200 MWdc Reclamation Solar Project in Indiana, per SolarQuarter.
- SolarQuarter also reported that an earlier Zelestra-Meta project, the 81 MWdc Jasper County Solar Project, has entered full commercial operation.
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