Facebook will gorge itself on solar energy in Virginia

DE Shaw Renewable Investments has inked a power purchase agreement for the 160MW Chester project.

Facebook has signed a power purchase agreement for electricity from the 160MW Chester solar farm in Virginia with DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI).

Chester will provide support for Facebook’s data centers in the area, notably the Henrico facility in Eastern Henrico County, which is close by.

The project will be constructed in Chesterfield County and is projected to provide major community benefits, including the creation of around 200 construction jobs.

Once the project is up and running, DESRI will design and fund a clean energy scholarship program, which will support graduating seniors from local high schools in developing local workforce expertise.

The project is being developed by DESRI in collaboration with Torch Clean Energy.

“We are thrilled to cooperate with DESRI once again to provide fresh solar energy to the grid,” Facebook’s head of renewable energy, Urvi Parekh, said.

“This project will enable us to continue to run our worldwide operations on 100% renewable energy while also bringing new investment and employment to Virginia.”

“The DESRI team is happy to continue our excellent collaboration with Facebook, which now totals over 650MWac of contracted and operating clean power projects across the country with the addition of Chester Solar,” said DESRI chief development officer Hy Martin.

“As Virginia becomes a national leader in the new energy economy, this project will provide employment, tax money, and other local economic growth.”

“Our team has planned multiple renewable energy projects for big load centers in the PJM area, including this plant.”

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“Torch is happy to maintain its excellent cooperation with DESRI and assist Facebook’s renewable energy aspirations through Chester’s continuous growth,” stated Torch president Jon Kilberg.

“This project represents major economic investment in Virginia, increasing the quantity of carbon-free solar energy produced by the state significantly.”

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