Google Partners with Cypress Creek to Build America's Largest Solar Project
Miles Bennett
Google signed a deal with U.S. power developer Cypress Creek to build a 2.5 GW solar and 2.9 GWh storage project in Arkansas — its biggest single clean-energy investment in the country, underscoring how AI-driven power demand is pushing Big Tech to lock in energy supply directly.
How big is this project?
Steel River Energy Center will be built in two phases: Phase 1 adds 1.6 GW of solar and 1.9 GWh of battery storage; at full build-out, capacity rises to 2.5 GW solar and 2.9 GWh storage.
In plain terms = 2.5 GW is roughly the output of two large nuclear reactors — enough to power over 315,000 Arkansas homes.
The project is sited in Mississippi County, Arkansas, with operations expected to begin in 2029.
Why does the supply chain matter?
Solar panels come from First Solar (FSLR), manufactured entirely with U.S.-sourced materials; steel is procured locally in Arkansas; batteries come from LG's factory in Phoenix, Arizona.
This means → the entire supply chain is deliberately onshore, sidestepping reliance on Chinese solar modules and batteries — and positioning the project to capture federal clean-energy subsidies.
FSLR is one of the few solar manufacturers with a fully domestic production chain; this order is a direct boost to its capacity utilization.
How is Google buying the power — what is a VPPA?
The two sides signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA — a financial contract that locks in green-energy credits without physically routing electricity to the buyer): Google will buy 100% of the project's initial output at a fixed price.
This means → Google won't consume this electricity in Arkansas; instead, it uses the green credits to offset carbon emissions from data centers elsewhere.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the fixed-price structure means Google absorbs future electricity-price risk in exchange for long-term supply certainty.
How deep is Google's energy anxiety?
Beyond solar, Google this month co-invested in a €411 million funding round for German fusion start-up Proxima Fusion.
Last year Google agreed to purchase 200 MW from the first commercial fusion plant planned by U.S.-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
This reflects a clear signal: AI-era data-center power demand far exceeds what conventional renewables can cover, and Google is betting on solar, storage, and fusion simultaneously — essentially staking out its position on the question of where the electricity will come from.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.