Google has signed a virtual power purchase agreement to take 100% of the initial 1.6GW output from Cypress Creek Energy's Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas — the largest solar-plus-storage project in the United States. The Financial Times first reported the deal on July 14, 2026, and it hands Cypress Creek the long-term revenue certainty it needs to press ahead with construction financing on phases one and two.
What Google Bought
The vPPA covers 1.6GW of solar generation and 1.9GWh of battery storage, expected to come online in 2029. Steel River, sited on 15,000-plus acres in Mississippi County near the town of Wilson, will grow to 2.45GW of solar and 2.9GWh of storage at full build-out — a footprint big enough to make it a marquee test of how far US hyperscaler power procurement can push new-build solar even as federal tax credits shift.
The Money Behind The Panels
Cypress Creek Energy CEO Kevin Smith told the FT the deal is "a rare bright spot for the US solar sector," pointing to a wave of tech-driven appetite for large renewable projects. The company earlier closed $3.5B in construction and long-term financing for phases one and two, underwritten by Barclays, BNP Paribas, Santander and Wells Fargo, with tax equity from a major investor. Steel River panels and structural steel are 100% US-made.
AI Load Is Rewriting Utility Deal Sheets
The deal fits a widening pattern of hyperscalers locking in gigawatt-scale renewable supply to feed AI data centres. It sits alongside Meta's doubling of its Louisiana AI cluster to 5GW and Blackstone's $5.34B behind-the-meter power bet with Williams. It also lands in the same window as AMPYR's 70MW acquisition from TotalEnergies — evidence that renewable dealmaking is still moving at pace despite policy headwinds.
Reporting based on coverage from the Financial Times, reNEWS and DataCenter Dynamics.