--- title: Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north... description: Google has announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase to date — the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas. The three-phase project will... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant | daily.dev og:description: Google has announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase to date — the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas. The three-phase project will... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/lUg1SGQ7g.png og:image:alt: Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 3 min read · 3 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Google has announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase to date — the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas. The three-phase project will eventually deliver 1.8 gigawatts of solar and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, making it the largest solar facility in the US when complete in 2029. Google is both investing alongside developer Cypress Creek Energy and purchasing the full output of the first two phases. The project contrasts sharply with xAI's nearby unpermitted natural gas power plant in Mississippi, which runs nearly 60 gas turbines without federal clean air permits and is reportedly polluting predominantly Black neighborhoods. Elon Musk recently acquired APR Energy, a modular gas power plant developer, signaling continued investment in fossil fuels despite running Tesla, which makes solar and grid-scale batteries. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How big is Google's new Steel River solar and battery project in Arkansas? Google's Steel River Energy Center will eventually reach 1.8 gigawatts of solar capacity and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage across three phases, making it the largest solar facility in the United States. The first two phases add 1 gigawatt of solar and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of storage, backed by $3.5 billion in financing from developer Cypress Creek Energy, with the final phase connecting to the grid in 2029. _Track how hyperscalers like Google are scaling clean power for AI data centers on daily.dev._ ### Is xAI's data center power plant operating without environmental permits? Yes, xAI is running nearly 60 natural gas turbines at its Colossus data center facility in Mississippi without federal clean air permits. Reuters reported that pollution from the unpermitted plant disproportionately affects nearby predominantly Black communities, and Elon Musk has continued investing in gas infrastructure, including acquiring modular gas plant developer APR Energy. _Developers weighing AI infrastructure's environmental footprint can follow this story on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@elmarchavez** · 1 upvotes > I like Google's approach here. They know investing in clean and stable energy is the way to go even if it takes time. While Musk on the other hand, well... doing Musk things. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Google adds 1GW of solar to fuel $185B AI spending spree](https://daily.dev/posts/google-adds-1gw-of-solar-to-fuel-185b-ai-spending-spree-832myhbnu) · The Register · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Google’s data center power playbook comes into focus](https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-data-center-power-playbook-comes-into-focus-pqt6uqxvk) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Google is still aiming for its “moonshot” 2030 energy goals](https://daily.dev/posts/google-is-still-aiming-for-its-moonshot-2030-energy-goals-nbw7q39w3) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI's gas-plant boom, and the fight to stop it](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-s-gas-plant-boom-and-the-fight-to-stop-it-avqhuacjv) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#google](https://daily.dev/tags/google) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g"},"datePublished":"2026-07-15T17:41:31.146Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:44:44.244Z","description":"Google has announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase to date — the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas. The three-phase project will...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c5ed6b0a45651ed74e361f1944e1111e?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c5ed6b0a45651ed74e361f1944e1111e?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":3},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"google","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"I like Google’s approach here. They know investing in clean and stable energy is the way to go even if it takes time. While Musk on the other hand, well… doing Musk things.","datePublished":"2026-07-16T15:43:45.445Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lUg1SGQ7g#c-bO3FrmLzT","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Elmar Chavez","url":"https://daily.dev/elmarchavez","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--7PjH979T--/f_auto/v1780994221/avatars/avatar_bK85rJb2OXXID2LX2wi5y?_a=BAMAMiWQ0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/google-s-biggest-clean-power-project-is-40-miles-north-of-xai-s-unpermitted-gas-power-plant-lug1sgq7g#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How big is Google's new Steel River solar and battery project in Arkansas?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Google's Steel River Energy Center will eventually reach 1.8 gigawatts of solar capacity and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage across three phases, making it the largest solar facility in the United States. The first two phases add 1 gigawatt of solar and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of storage, backed by $3.5 billion in financing from developer Cypress Creek Energy, with the final phase connecting to the grid in 2029. Track how hyperscalers like Google are scaling clean power for AI data centers on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is xAI's data center power plant operating without environmental permits?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, xAI is running nearly 60 natural gas turbines at its Colossus data center facility in Mississippi without federal clean air permits. Reuters reported that pollution from the unpermitted plant disproportionately affects nearby predominantly Black communities, and Elon Musk has continued investing in gas infrastructure, including acquiring modular gas plant developer APR Energy. Developers weighing AI infrastructure's environmental footprint can follow this story on daily.dev."}}]} ```