Google has expanded a partnership with utility Entergy Arkansas, committing to fund three renewable energy projects and grid upgrades to support its under-development 600MW data center in West Memphis, Arkansas.

As part of the deal, Google has signed a 440MW solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the entire capacity of the Big Island solar plant in Mississippi County.

The project, developed by US renewable firm Pattern Energy, broke ground in July. However, in early September, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) denied Entergy Arkansas’ request to enter a PPA with the plant, ruling that Entergy hadn’t shown the contract’s costs were reasonable or that it would save customers money compared with other options.

Entergy had argued the project would support Google’s clean energy goals for its planned West Memphis data center and was advised by the APSC to work with Google on the concerns. The PPA seems the likely result of this ruling, with Google stating in the release that the PPA was “added based on Arkansas Public Service Commission guidance from the initial filing of the resource.”

In addition to the Big Solar project, the deal is expected to support the development of up to 1.4GWh of battery energy storage capacity by 2028. The projects include a 1,000MWh BESS facility located at the site of the 313MW Driver Solar Project in Mississippi County, slated for completion in 2028. As well as a 400MWh BESS facility near Hot Springs, which is also expected to be completed in 2028.

Finally, the deal will support the expansion of the Galet 500/230 kV substation alongside two 230kV transmission lines, located in West Memphis, which is slated to come into initial service sometime this year. The substation is being built specifically to integrate power for large industrial and technology expansions, including Google's nearby planned data center campus.

The release explicitly states that Google will cover the costs associated with the project under a new contract. The companies claim the projects will result in “$2.1 billion in net benefits to help cover the fixed costs that all customers share,” and that, “in a period of increased economic growth, this approach means everyone else’s bills will be lower than they would be otherwise.”

Entergy Arkansas now intends to submit the Google expansion project to the Arkansas PSC for approval with a filing that follows the commission’s transparency recommendations, and expects it to be in service in 2028 pending approval.

“Google is increasing its investment in West Memphis and building on the significant success of its first phase. We are delivering on our promise to all Entergy Arkansas customers to create value for everyone we serve by ensuring Google is not only paying 100 percent of its power needs but is also contributing to the existing grid and lowering the costs for everyone else,” said Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas.

The companies initially partnered back in October of last year. The previous deal included Cypress Creek Energy’s Steel River Energy Center, a solar + storage project, which Google has committed to buying all the power generated by its first two phases (1.6GW of solar and 1.9GWh of storage). The project is expected to be fully operational in 2029, at which time it will have a capacity of 2.45GW of solar and 2.9GWh of BESS.

“We are thrilled to partner with Entergy and Google as we continue to build the nation's largest solar energy project, helping meet Arkansas’s growing electricity demand while using 100 percent US-made solar panels and structural steel, with much of the material proudly sourced right here in the state,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of Cypress Creek.

The power capacity is central to the successful development of Google’s data center in West Memphis, which the hyperscaler has committed to covering all the associated energy costs.

Google confirmed that it was the developer behind the data center in a statement released in September 2025. The campus is expected to span five buildings across a 1,178-acre property on the south side of Bollinger Road in West Memphis, Crittenden County. Recent records suggest that initial grid service is expected to begin in February next year, with a scaled ramp to its full capacity by October 2029.