Google has unveiled its single largest clean energy purchase to date — a sprawling solar and battery facility in Arkansas that will ultimately rival the scale of a small power station. The Steel River Energy Center, developed with Cypress Creek Energy, will initially deliver 1 gigawatt of solar capacity and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, enough to meet roughly 6 per cent of Arkansas’s peak electricity demand. A third phase, due online in 2029, will bring total capacity to 1.8 GW of solar and 2.9 GWh of storage, making it the largest solar installation in the United States.
The project’s location — about 30 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee — puts it just 40 miles north of a very different energy venture: Elon Musk’s xAI Colossus data centre, which is powered by an unpermitted natural gas plant. According to a Reuters investigation, xAI is running nearly 60 gas turbines without the required federal clean air permits. The plant’s pollution disproportionately affects predominantly Black neighbourhoods in Mississippi, raising serious environmental justice concerns.
Google’s approach relies on pairing solar panels with large-scale batteries to supply round-the-clock power to the grid, supporting its goal of matching electricity consumption with clean energy on an hourly basis. The company has invested alongside Cypress Creek, which secured $3.5 billion in financing for the first two phases, and will purchase the entire output. This model is designed to accelerate the deployment of hybrid renewable plants that can provide firm, dispatchable power.
For UK businesses and regulators, the contrast highlights a growing tension in how to power energy-intensive AI infrastructure. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office and the government are grappling with similar questions as data centre demand surges. While the EU AI Act pushes for transparency on environmental impact, the UK has yet to impose binding clean energy requirements on AI operators. Experts warn that without clear rules, the UK could see a patchwork of fossil-fuel backup plants alongside renewables, undermining net-zero targets.
“The divergence between Google and xAI is a microcosm of a global debate,” said Dr. Helen Marriott, energy policy fellow at the Centre for Climate and Innovation. “If the UK wants to attract AI investment without compromising its climate goals, it must mandate that new data centres demonstrate a credible path to 24/7 clean power, not just offsetting.” Musk, who also runs Tesla — a firm that manufactures solar panels and grid batteries — recently purchased APR Energy, a specialist in modular gas plants, signalling no immediate shift away from fossil fuels for xAI.