Utah County’s Faraday Solar project begins commercial operations supplying power to Meta

The owners of the massive Faraday Solar Project in Utah County have announced that the installation has reached operational readiness and begun commercial operations. 

Located west of Utah Lake and south of the town of Eagle Mountain, Faraday Solar is rated at 685.3 megawatts of DC power (525 MWAC) and began supplying power for sale to the grid on
Sept. 30.

Owned by Excelsior Energy Capital of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the project is touted as one of the largest utility-scale solar investments in the United States. Faraday Solar has more than 1.2 million solar panels and a footprint roughly equivalent to New York’s Central Park. It was built in just under
two years.

To mark the commercial operation of the project, Excelsior hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 5

Faraday Solar is backed by a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with PacifiCorp under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, which allows large customers to directly support the incremental addition of clean and renewable energy projects to support the customers’ clean energy goals. Accordingly, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta is purchasing the energy and all of the environmental attributes associated with the solar facility to provide the company’s operations in Utah with clean energy.

Excelsior said the long-term PPA provides financial stability for the project and helps ensure PacifiCorp can reliably supply Meta’s energy needs. Excelsior acquired Faraday Solar in 2023 from Parasol and Clenera, the initial developers of the project. Excelsior leveraged its deep industry relationships to secure and advance the asset through the financing and construction phases.

“Successful delivery of this landmark project reaffirms Excelsior’s commitment to enabling others to reach their clean energy goals and support a clean and reliable grid,” said Chris Frantz, partner and head of portfolio operations at Excelsior. “Solar energy continues to demonstrate its resilience and strategic importance, and projects such as Faraday Solar can not only deliver attractive returns but also enhance energy security and independence in a volatile global landscape.”

“The successful completion of Faraday Solar marks a defining achievement for Excelsior’s construction and operations teams,” said Dan Bove, senior director of construction management for Excelsior. “Delivering a project of this scale and complexity reflects the strength of our partnerships and our execution capabilities. We’re proud that Faraday Solar will serve as a model for large-scale clean energy delivery across North America.”

Excelsior Energy Capital is a clean energy infrastructure fund focused on middle-market investments in wind, solar and battery storage plants and businesses across North America. The firm was founded in 2017 and has two active funds totaling over $1.5 billion of equity capital.