Meta has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy for the environmental attributes associated with the Starling Solar project in Gonzales County, Texas, US.
The 144MW solar development will supply the local grid with additional generation capacity, which Apex states would not have been built without Meta’s involvement.
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The agreement grants Meta exclusive rights to all renewable energy credits produced by Starling Solar.
The project is due to commence commercial operations in 2027.
This latest deal brings the total number of projects jointly undertaken by Apex and Meta to seven. Their combined portfolio now spans Texas, Illinois, Virginia, Kansas and Iowa, reaching an aggregate capacity of approximately 1.2GW.
Apex CEO Ken Young said: “Seven projects over nearly as many years speaks to a partnership built on shared principles of responsible building and disciplined execution. Starling brings new capacity to Texas and lasting value to Gonzales County long after construction wraps.”
The Starling Solar development is projected to provide economic benefits to the local area.
Apex estimates that the project will generate approximately $27m in tax revenue during its lifetime, with $15.6m allotted to local schools.
Landowners in the area are expected to receive more than $26.3m in payments.
The company also anticipates that between 400 and 450 jobs will be created during the construction phase and that nearly $400,000 in grant funding will be distributed to local organisations and conservation efforts.
Meta clean and renewable energy head Amanda Yang said: “The best clean energy projects are the ones the surrounding community feels the benefit of directly – in school funding, in landowner payments, in local hiring. Starling brings all of that to Gonzales County, along with new solar generation for a Texas grid.”
Starling Solar forms part of Apex’s strategy to deliver interconnected, ready-to-build energy capacity tailored for large-scale customers seeking accelerated timelines.
In April 2026, Meta signed an agreement with Noon Energy to secure up to 1GW of energy storage capacity, equivalent to 100GW-hours, for its data centres.
