Google's Massive Solar Bet Clashes With xAI's Gas Reliance

As TechCrunch reported, Google has announced its largest solar and battery storage purchase to date with the Steel River Energy Center. Located approximately 30 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, the project is being developed alongside Cypress Creek Energy. The first two phases, supported by $3.5 billion in financing, will add 1 gigawatt of solar capacity and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, which Google says will cover roughly 6% of Arkansas's peak demand.

Once the third phase connects to the grid in 2029, the facility will reach a total capacity of 1.8 gigawatts of solar and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, making it the largest solar facility in the U.S., according to TechCrunch. Google aims to align its electricity use with clean power on an hour-by-hour basis.

This deployment stands in stark contrast to the operations of Elon Musk's xAI, located about 40 miles south of the Steel River project. As reported by Reuters, xAI is operating nearly 60 natural gas turbines in Mississippi without federal clean air permits, resulting in pollution that affects predominantly Black neighborhoods. Despite Tesla's production of batteries and solar panels, Musk has doubled down on gas by purchasing modular natural gas power plant developer APR Energy.

While Google has largely focused on renewables, TechCrunch notes the company has an anomaly in its portfolio: a 933-megawatt natural gas power plant in West Texas built in partnership with Crusoe.