Developed with Cypress Creek Energy, the virtual power purchase agreement covers the Steel River Energy Center, which will add 2.5 GW of solar capacity and 2.9 GW/GWh of battery storage.
Google has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to take 100% of the initial generation from the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas, marking the largest solar-plus-storage project of its kind to break ground in the United States.
Developed by Cypress Creek Energy, the project will initially feature 1.6 GW of solar power coupled with 2 GWh of battery energy storage, enough to power roughly 315,000 homes annually. Upon full completion, the site’s total capacity is planned to scale up to 2.5 GW of solar PV and 2.9 GWh of energy storage.
Under the terms of the VPPA, Google will pay a fixed price for the project’s clean energy output to offset its grid-based emissions, though the financial specifics of the long-term contract were not disclosed. Because hyperscale data centers require continuous, uninterrupted power, tech companies frequently rely on traditional grid mixes and on-site generation while utilizing VPPAs to inject equivalent renewable capacity back into the local system.
“The investment supplies the grid at large, and passes along the benefits from the local power plant to all customers in Arkansas,” said Will Conkling, Google’s head of data center energy.
