Facebook’s Prineville Data Center in Oregon is to be supported by 100 percent solar power under a new partnership with Pacific Power.

The collaboration will see the new solar developments have a combined capacity of 437 megawatts (MW), including two projects amounting to 100 MW in the Prineville area, Pacific Power said in a statement Wednesday.

Prineville is home to Facebook’s first custom-built data center, which opened in 2011.

“Our work with Pacific Power to develop new solar resources represents a significant milestone for our hyper-efficient Prineville Data Center,” Peter Freed, Facebook’s energy strategy manager, said. “We are committed to supporting 100 percent renewable energy, and we are thrilled to have found a solution for our first data center.”

Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, are powered by 100 percent renewable energy, while other data centers in Sweden, Iowa and Texas are also powered by renewables.

The business is also a member of the RE100, a global initiative comprising some of the world's biggest companies, all committed to 100 percent renewable power. Other members of the RE100 include Commerzbank, Danone, Goldman Sachs and HSBC.





