Value chain · CLM-1212
In plain terms
A space solar start-up says it has signed a 20-year deal to sell power from orbit to a data-centre company: 100 MW at first, perhaps 250 MW later, received in Illinois. Only the two companies have said so, and no price or start date is given.
The claim as recorded
Virtus Solis and Brae Systems announced on 2026-09-30 "the closing of a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement", under which Virtus Solis would supply 100 MW of continuous space-based solar power, 876,000 MWh a year, through a receiving station to be built in Illinois, with an option for Brae to expand to 250 MW (2.19 million MWh a year) within three years of initial commercial operations; the release calls it the first solar PPA in space and "a multi-billion-dollar lifetime gross contract commitment".
Evidence behind this: T6, a company press release about the company's own contract; it permits "X stated Y on date Z" only.
Scope and limits
Self-reported by the parties (the release is issued by Virtus Solis: "SOURCE Virtus Solis"); no price, start date, delivery milestone or penalty terms are stated, and "multi-billion-dollar" is not broken down. In the release, "multi-billion-dollar lifetime gross contract commitment" ends the sentence about the 250 MW option, so it may assume that the option is exercised. 876,000 MWh is 100 MW for all 8,760 hours of a year, and 2.19 million MWh is 250 MW for all of them, so the energy figures assume no outage at all, against the release's own "99.9% uptime" (our arithmetic). The headline's "250 MW" is the option, not the contract. "First solar PPA in space" is the issuer's claim, unchecked.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
text, paragraph 1: the parties announce "the closing of a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement". Paragraph 2, paraphrased: 100 MW of 24/7 orbital solar power, 876,000 MWh a year, through a receiving station to be built in Illinois, with an option for Brae to expand to 250 MW (2.19 million MWh a year) within three years of initial commercial operations, described as "a multi-billion-dollar lifetime gross contract commitment".
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1212
CLM-1212, Energy Aperture, as of 2026-09-30.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-596
- CLM-1213The first buyer wants the power for underwater computer centres for AI. The release pitches power from orbit as a fix for AI's power and...CLM-1214 (low confidence)The company says its beam will be on 99.9 per cent of the time, and that a 2 million dollar development agreement with a US government...CLM-1215The deal was announced on the day of a space solar session in Washington, D.C., where the company says its chief executive will speak.CLM-1216 (low confidence)The company says more customers are lined up. It names none and gives no numbers.