<article><p class="lead">US technology company Meta will build its newest data center in Idaho, attributing its decision in part to the availability of renewable energy to power its operations.</p><p>Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will invest $800mn in the data center being developed in Kuna, Idaho, which lies southwest of the state capital Boise. The data center will tentatively receive 100pc of its electricity from renewable energy through an arrangement with utility Idaho Power, which is working with regulators to expand its green tariff program.</p><p>Idaho Power asked the state Public Utilities Commission for approval on its arrangement with Meta on 22 December. The agreement would be a "special contract" within its larger Clean Energy Your Way green tariff, for which the power company <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2280598">sought a more general expansion</a> earlier that month. </p><p>If approved, Meta would support 100pc of its operations with new generation through Idaho Power's "construction" option, designed to add additional projects to the grid rather than forcing a customer to rely on existing wind and solar farms. Idaho Power describes new projects selected for the program as "tailored" to meet "specific hourly energy needs."</p><p>Meta would be the first customer to subscribe to the construction offering.</p><p>Supporting new projects has become a focus for companies further along in their sustainability agendas, as large electricity buyers move away from subsidizing those already feeding power into the grid.</p><p>Meta said it would retire the associated renewable energy certificates (RECs). Typically, the company — like most with sustainability goals — retires the credits associated with its electricity procurements. As RECs represent the environmental benefits of carbon-free power, retiring them, thereby taking them out of circulation, is the only way to claim the use of clean energy.</p><p>Meta plans to break ground on the data center in September and expects construction to continue through 2025. </p><p>The company first powered 100pc of its global operations with renewables in 2020.</p><p class="bylines">By Patrick Zemanek</p></article>
