Meta has agreed to purchase 760MW of Renewable Energy Credits (REC) (also known as Renewable Energy Certificates) from Invenergy from four of its solar energy projects in the US.

The projects will connect to the power grid between 2024 and 2027 and will be located in Ohio, Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas.

"These projects will help us continue our commitment to support all of our operations with 100 percent clean energy," Urvi Parekh, Meta's head of global energy, said in a statement.

RECs are a form of offset in which companies can purchase a representation of the energy generated by renewable energy sources, transferring the "renewable" aspects of the energy to the REC's owner. When a provider generates 1MWh of renewable power, it is issued with a REC. If someone uses that power, they can retire that REC and add that 1MWh to their green energy total.

Significant controversy exists over the utility of RECs, with many considering them the lowest-quality renewable energy investment. RECs lack a guarantee that the renewable energy produced was consumed or the capacity was built to match the demand. As a result, many within the industry have advocated for Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) over RECs as the more sustainable option.

Meta has signed several PPAs across the US market in 2024. In November, Meta signed a long-term PPA with rPlus Energies for 100 percent of the capacity of the 125MW Pleasant Valley Solar 2 project to Meta. The project is expected to begin construction in late 2024.

Meta also signed PPAs in Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, and Louisiana this year for more than 1.2GW of contracted power.

Invenergy is a Chicago-based renewable energy company. It has more than 205 clean energy projects worldwide, with 46 more in development. In total, the company has developed more than 30MW of renewable capacity, including 17.6MW of wind and 6MW of solar.