Cypress Creek and Google Break Ground on 2.5 GW Steel River, America’s Largest Solar-Plus-Storage Project

Energy Storage News Solar + Storage Integration
Marin Holt
July 16, 2026
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5 minutes read

Total capacity: 2.5 GW solar + 2.9 GWh storage
Phase 1-2 under construction: 1.6 GW solar, 1.9 GWh storage
Completion: 2029
Google community investment: $5 million
Homes powered: 315,000 Arkansas homes

Cypress Creek Energy and Google broke ground on July 14, 2026 on the first two phases of the Steel River Energy Center in Wilson, Arkansas, a 2.5 GW solar and 2.9 GWh battery storage complex that the developer calls the largest solar-plus-storage project in the United States. Google signed a power purchase agreement for the majority of the output from the first two phases, which together total 1.6 GW of solar and 1.9 GWh of storage and are already under construction. Full completion is scheduled for 2029.

Cypress Creek acquired the Arkansas project from Swift Current Energy earlier this year and is building it with domestically manufactured hardware. First Solar supplies the modules, LG Energy Solution Vertech provides the battery systems with North American cells, and racking and foundation steel comes from PACO Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas, drawing on coils from U.S. Steel’s Big River facility, more than 142,000 tons of steel in all. Nextpower supplies the trackers and Moss is the construction contractor.

Why It Matters

Steel River is Google’s largest solar and storage commitment to date and a test of building a gigawatt-scale project almost entirely on a U.S. supply chain. The 2.5 GW build is sized to power roughly 315,000 Arkansas homes, and pairing generation with 2.9 GWh of storage sends output into evening peaks rather than stranding it at midday. Google also committed $5 million to energy affordability programs for Arkansas residents and K-12 schools, tying the data-center demand that anchors the deal to local ratepayer relief.

“Steel River is the largest solar project with energy storage in the country, and it’s being built with 100% U.S.-made solar panels and structural steel,” said Kevin Smith, chief executive of Cypress Creek Energy. Google’s Will Conkling said the project represents “an important investment in Google’s clean energy commitments” and in the company’s presence in Arkansas.

Critical Perspective

Cypress Creek and Google broke ground on 1.6 GW of solar and 1.9 GWh of storage toward a 2.5 GW complex that leans on more than 142,000 tons of U.S.-made steel. Google’s power purchase agreement covers only the majority of those first two phases, which leaves close to a gigawatt of the headline capacity without a named buyer and a fully domestic supply chain that has to hold schedule and price through 2029. The superlative also has a short shelf life, since Edwards and Sanborn in California already brought roughly 875 MW of solar and more than 3 GWh of storage online and wore the same largest-in-the-country label. Gemini Solar in Nevada carried that billing too and still slipped to full operation in 2024 after supply and construction delays, so what is the contingency if Steel River’s domestic steel and battery supply lines fall behind before the later phases find their offtaker?