Shell-Backed Developer Completes Georgia Solar Farm for Facebook

Brian Eckhouse (Bloomberg) -- A Royal Dutch Shell Plc-backed solar developer commissioned a solar project in Georgia that will help power a Facebook Inc. data center.

Silicon Ranch Corp.’s 102.5-megawatt plant in Early County is Facebook’s first solar project in Georgia, and was developed as part of an agreement with local utility Walton Electric Membership Corp. It uses Hanwha Q Cells Co. modules that were produced at the manufacturer’s new factory in the state.

Walton Electric recently signed a deal with Silicon Ranch for another solar project in the state that will power the Facebook data center. The 107-megawatt facility in Denton is expected to be commissioned in 2021. Facebook has signed almost 950 megawatts of clean power-supply agreements this year, the third-most globally among corporations, according to BloombergNEF.