Entergy is seeking regulatory approval for what would be among the Southeast’s largest renewable energy projects, in a bid to power a proposed $1 billion Google data center in Arkansas.
The New Orleans-based utility is asking the Arkansas Public Service Commission to approve 600 megawatts of solar generation, a 350-MW battery storage project and related transmission equipment. The request comes just weeks after Entergy got regulatory approval to build three natural gas plants in its home state of Louisiana to serve Meta’s largest data center in rural Richland Parish.
The solar and storage project would help power a Google data center planned for West Memphis, Arkansas. Entergy filed separately with the Arkansas PSC to approve terms of a special rate contract to supply the data center.
The West Memphis project is the latest in a steady stream of new data center proposals across the country that could raise electricity demand at rates not seen in decades. In many cases, access to energy supplies is at or near the top of the list of requirements for data center developers, including tech giants such as Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon.
