Longroad closes financing for Meta-backed 300-MW Texas solar construction

• Longroad Energy reached financial close and started building a 300-MWac/400-MWdc solar farm in Yoakum County, Texas, backed by a long-term Meta contract.

Longroad Energy has achieved financial close and broken ground on a 300-MWac (400-MWdc) solar project in Yoakum County, Texas—one of the state’s larger PV builds this year—underpinned by a long-term offtake with Meta. The deal advances steel-in-the-ground amid shifting policy winds, underscoring how corporate contracts continue to anchor utility-scale renewables across ERCOT.

The capital stack blends construction financing that flips to term debt at commercial operation with tax-credit monetisation—now a well-trodden path for U.S. PV. Longroad’s track record across multiple ISOs and a blue-chip counterparty likely helped compress spreads and move diligence quickly. Equipment reservations for transformers and protection gear were locked early, a critical hedge given persistent lead times.

On site, single-axis trackers and high-efficiency modules will drive yield through West Texas’ high-insolation environment. A plant-level control system will provide voltage support, frequency ride-through and rapid curtailment response, aligning with ERCOT’s evolving grid code. While the base case is solar-only, the interconnection design preserves optionality to add a battery—an increasingly common choice to shift noon output into evening peaks and capture ancillary-service revenues.

Local benefits are straightforward: construction jobs, supply purchases, and long-term payments under tax agreements. Vegetation and dust-control plans aim to protect neighbouring properties during build and operation, while a decommissioning bond will fund site restoration at end-of-life.

For Meta, the project contributes to a growing portfolio of contracted clean power serving data-center loads. For Longroad, it recycles development value and sets up potential refinancing at operating terms after a first year of performance data. If execution stays on track, the plant will add a reliable block of daytime energy to ERCOT’s resource mix—another proof point that corporate demand and disciplined delivery can keep big solar moving even in a choppy policy cycle.