Facebook is building a massive solar farm in West Texas that's believed to be one of the largest solar projects in the nation and the social media giant's first direct investment in renewable energy. Boston-based renewable energy developer Longroad Energy recently announced it was partnering with Facebook on the $416 million project, just as Facebook is finishing construction of a data center near Albuquerque, NM, the AP reports. The Prospero Solar project just north of Odessa, Texas, will have a capacity of 379 megawatts, which is enough to power around 72,000 homes based on the national average, the Solar Energy Industries Association says.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in April that Facebook was building six new solar projects to support its data centers, where the social media giant stores photos, videos, and other information that people post on the platform. Prospero Solar is expected to be completed next year and will take up around 7 square miles—more than five times the size of Central Park in New York City. Ben Inskeep, a research analyst for EQ Research, a renewable energy consulting firm, says it makes sense for Facebook to invest in solar power because renewable energy is becoming more affordable and its data centers have huge operating costs. "West Texas has some of the best solar resources in the nation," Inskeep says. "It makes good business sense."
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