Avangrid’s newest and largest solar project will help support Meta’s energy demands for one of its many data centers.
Utility and power producer Avangrid, a part of the Iberdrola Group, announced its largest solar project is now operational in Texas.
The 321 MW True North solar project sits on 1,907 acres in Falls County, Texas and will support Meta’s data center operations in Texas.
The project uses DuraTrack solar trackers made by Array Technologies, with some supplied from its New Mexico facility. Avangrid signed a $30 million order for the project’s trackers with Array in 2023, including safe harbor inventory.
The True North project represents $369 million of investments in central Texas, Avangrid said. It is projected to contribute more than $40 million in property taxes throughout its lifetime.
True North is Avangrid’s seventh project in the Lone Star state, contributing to a combined capacity of nearly 1.6 GW. According to Avangrid, these projects represent over $2 billion in direct investment in Texas, support over 65 full-time jobs and have paid a combined $118 million in taxes since 2009.
The project’s commercial operation in the first quarter was earlier than the company’s original expectations for the fourth quarter of 2025, according to its permitting application submitted to the Texas Comptroller in April 2022. The project began to produce power in July 2024 with 20 MW commissioned.
The project created about 300 jobs at the peak of construction, most of which were filled by local residents, Avangrid said. Avangrid worked with Black & Veatch for the project’s engineering, procurement and construction.
Meta continues to require additional energy as its data centers multiply across the country. It is the top corporate solar user in the U.S. with nearly 5.2 GW of capacity.
Meta signed on for a 505 MW solar project in Texas earlier this month. The social media giant’s 180 MW Cove Mountain Projects in Utah were part of a series of PPAs that Facebook signed in 2020 to run data centers on clean, renewable energy. Meta also procures projects from Arizona, Idaho, Missouri and Texas.
(See also: Data center capacity is soaring, along with investment and land use & Corporate America vastly increases investment in solar and storage)
According to the company, Avangrid has more than 9 GW of installed renewable capacity in the United States. Avangrid’s renewable projects have traditionally been in the wind sector, but the company expanded into solar in 2017.
(See also: Avangrid asserts its place in the U.S. renewable future)
In 2023, Avangrid achieved commercial operations of the largest solar facility in Washington State and in Oregon at the time.
