Today, together with local leaders, community members and our partners at Cypress Creek Energy, we broke ground on what will be the largest solar power plant in the United States – the Steel River Energy Center in Mississippi County Arkansas. While this landmark facility will be the largest solar and storage project across Google’s global portfolio to date, this historic milestone belongs first and foremost to the community of Mississippi County. The Steel River Energy Center will reinvest local workforce talent and industrial innovation right back into the state’s economy, creating lasting clean energy and economic benefits.
By working closely with local leaders and residents, we ensure that our growth directly supports our neighbors and strengthens the grid that powers Arkansas’ industrial steelmaking, data centers and households.
Empowering a 24/7 future with clean energy
As both an anchor investor and an offtaker, Google will support the development of the first two phases of the project, which will add 1.6 GWdc of solar power and 1.9 GWh of battery storage to the regional grid. The full three-phase project will deliver 2.5 GWdc of new solar generation and 2.9 GWh of new battery storage to the regional power grid when the facility is fully operational in 2029. To put that in perspective, that’s enough electricity to power more than 315,000 homes in Arkansas each year.
We are working to provide local carbon-free energy around the clock for our data centers. Steel River is a game changer because it pairs massive solar panels with advanced battery storage systems. This project can store the sun’s peak output during the daytime and feed it back to the grid exactly when it is most needed, providing a more reliable, resilient grid that can meet the increasing demand for electricity while keeping power affordable for all.
Building with Arkansas steel
What makes this project unique is how it is being built. Located in Mississippi County, the nation’s leading steel-producing county, the project will be built using 100% American-made structural steel sourced locally from US Steel’s nearby Big River facility and manufactured at PACO Steel’s Arkansas plant.
The spread of clean energy and economic growth go hand in hand. Projects like Steel River supported more than 1.4 million American jobs by 2025 and have created new opportunities for domestic manufacturing and suppliers across the country. Google’s growing US need for clean energy has fueled demand for US-made steel, solar panels, trackers, batteries and other critical energy technologies, supporting the expansion of domestic industries and accelerating innovations.
Investment in local communities
Implementing new clean energy also creates deep, long-term economic benefits in the communities we call home. Construction of Steel River will create approximately 700 local jobs and generate an estimated $300 million in tax revenue over the life of the project.
But our commitment goes beyond the electrons flowing into the grid. We want to ensure that this project creates lasting, generational benefits for local residents. Google has also committed $5 million in energy affordability initiatives to support Arkansas residents and elementary schools that build on the Greater West Memphis Energy Impact Fund. This new commitment will support community solar plans in West Memphis for low-income customers, improvements to residential health and safety and weatherization across Mississippi County, and energy efficiency projects in Arkansas schools.
There is still plenty of work ahead to bring the benefits of affordable clean power to people everywhere. But with the incredible scale of this new solar-and-storage milestone, driven by Arkansas innovation and workforce talent, we’re one step closer.