Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant
Google announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase, partnering with Cypress Creek Energy to develop the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas. The project will eventually become the United States' biggest solar facility, delivering up to 6% of the state's peak electricity demand and providing continuous grid power. In contrast, Elon Musk’s xAI operates an unpermitted natural‑gas plant nearby, raising environmental concerns.
- ▪Google and Cypress Creek Energy are building the Steel River Energy Center with an initial 1 gigawatt of solar capacity and 1.9 gigawatt‑hours of battery storage.
- ▪When fully completed by 2029, the plant will total about 1.8 gigawatts of solar and 2.9 gigawatt‑hours of battery storage, making it the largest solar facility in the United States.
- ▪The first two phases will generate enough electricity to meet roughly 6% of Arkansas’s peak demand and will feed power directly to the grid.
- ▪xAI’s unpermitted natural‑gas plant, located about 40 miles south of the solar project, operates around 60 turbines and has been linked to pollution affecting predominantly Black neighborhoods.
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Google said it has made its largest solar power and battery storage purchase to date. The first two phases of the project, located in Arkansas, will generate enough electricity to power about 6% of the state’s peak demand, the company said earlier this week. Electricity from the project will flow directly to the grid, offsetting demand from Google’s data centers. Google is both investing in the project alongside developer Cypress Creek Energy and purchasing the entire output of the first two phases, adding 1 gigawatt of solar capacity and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage to its portfolio. When completed, the three-phase project will be the largest solar facility in the United States, the companies said.
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