The acceleration to capitalize on buzzing around it has led technology companies to dramatically expand the traces of their database. This has been good news for companies like Nvidia, but has also led to an unprecedented increase in the energy industry.
The new and enlarged data centers are expected to double the sector energy demand by 2029, according to JLL. As a result, developers and technology companies have worked overtime to close capacity. Nuclear and natural gas has received an increase from the projected demand, but some technologies have benefited in the close term as the solar.
Although solar energy suffers from what experts call intermitencies – it will not produce if the sun is not shining – the offspring has been as important that companies have been including big deals at a rapid pace.
Unlike advanced nuclear reactors, which still should not be placed on trade scale, solar energy is proven technology. And unlike new natural gas power plants, which take years to plan and build, the average completion time for a new solar farm is about 18 months. Plus, it is one of the lowest cost sources of new generating capacity.
Since the beginning of 2025, technology companies and database operators have supported 12 solar agreements, each by adding more than 100 megawatts of network capacity.
January
Meta began the year with a 200 solar deal 200 megawatts of multinational electric services. The purchase went to a solar farm near one of the existing company data centers in Texas. At the time of the deal, Meta already had over 12 gigashes of capacity generation in its renewable portfolio.
Later in January, the Stargate partnership between Openai, Oracle and Softbank Group was reported by Bloomberg to be enabled, at least in part, by the solar. SB Energy, which is part of the softbank portfolio, is expected to develop solar -backed installations from batteries at the network scale.
Meta closed the month with another massive solar deal, with the renewable Spanish Zelestra developer. The contract was for 595 megawatts with capacity.
February
Meta continued its bar in February, investing in a solar project 505 megawatts with renewable Cypress Creek, which is developing massive installation in Coleman County, Texas-about 150 miles northwest of Austin.
Microsoft also entered the quarrel in February. The company has long been a renewable energy buyer to empower its operations, and added 389 other solar megawatts to an agreement with renewable EDP of North America. The contract includes three different solar farms, two in Illinois and one in Texas. Purchases have helped Microsoft stay on top of its commitment to strengthen its operations using zero carbon energy.
Amazon also made a large purchase, supporting a hybrid project on the Iberian Peninsula involving the preservation of wind, solar and pumped-hydroelectric. The deal included a total of 476 megawatts, of which 212 megawatts are solar.
Outside the SH.BA, data center operators have also invested in the sun. In India, Ctrls built its 125 megawatts in two phases, the first half of which was completed in June 2024 with the second finished at the beginning of February. In South America, Telecom Argentina agreed to buy electricity from a 130 megawatt solar farm developed by MSU Green Energy.
March
Microsoft added three other solar developments to Mars, focusing on Midwest again. Projects include Illinois, Michigan and Missouri, and they are being developed by AES. Together, they will offer Microsoft 475 megawatts with capacity, adding its considerable 34-gigavas portfolio.
Cisco came into play with a 100 megawatt agreement with X-ELIO, a solar developer owned by Brookfield, a big bet manager to renewable. Energy purchase agreements see Cisco’s purchase capacity from two different solar projects in Texas.
Meta added 200 other solar megawatts to her portfolio in March in a RWE deal. The solar farm will be built only in the southeast of Austin.
In Italy, the Data4 data center operator signed a 10-year agreement with Edison Energia services to buy energy from a 148 megawatt solar farm northwest of Rome.
More arrangements are likely
While technology companies compete to add it to the seemingly possible product and market, the data centers have expanded to maintain the pace. This growth requires power, and some technologies are also positioned as solar energy.
The service on the scale of services is already one of the cheapest forms of new generating capacity without counting subsidies, underestimating everything except wind at sea. Also fast to be placed and can be ordered in stages, allowing data centers to attract energy before the whole project is completed.
These qualities have been combined to give the sun a close advantage, collecting deals with large technology companies and data center developers. It is a trend that is likely to continue.
