Google plans biggest solar and battery project in Arkansas

Google moved ahead with the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas, a 2.5-gigawatt solar project paired with 2.9 gigawatts of battery storage, its biggest clean-power buildout ever. The site sits about 40 miles north of xAI’s gas-fired facility near Memphis.

Google will power more than 315,000 homes, create about 700 local jobs and generate roughly $300 million in local tax revenue. The company will put $5 million into local energy affordability and school efficiency programs tied to the project. The Arkansas buildout is designed to support Google’s West Memphis data center and nearby AI infrastructure, extending the company’s $4 billion investment in Arkansas through 2027.

By combining solar with large batteries, Google aims to deliver power around the clock rather than only when the sun is shining, a model meant to align electricity use with clean generation on an hourly basis. That standard is tighter than simply buying annual renewable-energy credits and then accounting for emissions later.

In its 2026 environmental report, Google signed agreements for more than 12 gigawatts of net-new clean energy in 2025 and has signed more than 240 clean-energy agreements totaling nearly 35 gigawatts since 2010. It has also signed 1 gigawatt of data-center demand response with utility partners. In Pine Island, Minnesota, Google’s agreement adds 1,400 megawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of iron-air battery storage from Form Energy to Xcel Energy’s grid.

xAI installed 59 natural-gas turbines for its Colossus 2 data center without the federal clean-air permits required for the site, more than the 27 turbines the company had previously acknowledged. The Southern Environmental Law Center, the NAACP, Young, Gifted & Green, the Sierra Club and Memphis Community Against Pollution have challenged the permitting, centering their objections on South Memphis and North Mississippi communities, including predominantly Black neighborhoods near the facility.