Google picks up 440 MW of solar Arkansas regulators rejected

Google will now pay for the 440 MW Big Island solar contract that Arkansas regulators refused to put on household bills a month ago, plus 1,400 MWh of batteries and new grid lines for its West Memphis data center, which shows that when a regulator says no, the fastest way to keep an AI campus on schedule is for the data center owner to pay for the power itself.

What happened?

• The deal: On 19 October 2026 Entergy Arkansas announced a second phase of service for Google's data center campus in West Memphis. Google will cover about $600 million of planned investment plus a power purchase agreement, under a new contract.
• What the money buys: a 1,000 MWh battery at the Driver Solar site near Osceola and a 400 MWh battery near Hot Springs, both expected online in 2028; a 440 MW (AC) solar power purchase agreement from the Big Island plant being built in Mississippi County; and an expansion of the Galet substation near West Memphis with two new 230 kV transmission lines to serve the larger campus.
• The refusal it follows: On 16 September 2026 the Arkansas Public Service Commission denied Entergy Arkansas's request to sign a 20-year contract for the same Big Island plant and recover its cost from customers. The Commission's order found the cost was not shown to be reasonable, and it said other arrangements might meet Google's clean energy goal "without the costs of an uneconomic facility being borne on EAL's ratepayers." Entergy asked the Commission to reconsider, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported on 9 October.
• What Entergy says customers get: at least $500 million of new savings from 2028 over 20 years, on top of $1.6 billion from the first phase, for $2.1 billion in total. The new resources will not be charged through the state's Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider. The expansion still has to be filed with the Commission, and the expected in-service date is 2028, pending approval.

Why does it matter?

The direct signal. A hyperscaler took a power contract a regulator had rejected and moved its cost onto its own books inside 33 days (our arithmetic, from 16 September to 19 October). Entergy says the deal adds the data center buildings Google planned for the site and speeds up the ramp of the first phase. Data Center Dynamics reports the campus is planned at 600 MW, with initial grid service expected from February 2027 and a ramp to full capacity by October 2029, based on local records.

The second-order signal: regulators are now a gate on data center power, and the tenant pays to get through it. The Commission did not reject solar or the data center. It rejected the idea that Entergy Arkansas's other customers, about 738,000 of them, should carry a 20-year contract whose benefits Entergy could not explain line by line. The answer was not a better spreadsheet; it was Google writing the cheque. Indiana shows a similar shape: regulators there cleared AES Indiana's plan for Google's 390 MW Monrovia site with Google paying first, and NiSource signed Microsoft to about 1,100 MW of Indiana power from 2028. The pattern is clear: the price of an AI hall now includes part of the grid around it.

Why solar alone does not run a data center. The Commission's order flagged a likely capacity accreditation for Big Island of 13% or lower. Accreditation is how much of a plant's rated output the grid operator counts on at peak. Our arithmetic: 13% of 440 MW is about 57 MW of firm capacity, roughly a tenth of a 600 MW campus. Entergy's own witness put the plant's output at about 3% of its customers' total energy needs in its first year. So the solar mainly supplies energy and clean energy credits toward Google's goal of matching its data centers' energy use with carbon-free energy by 2030. The parts that keep the halls running at night and at peak are the batteries, Entergy's existing fleet and the new substation and lines. For a data center, the substation is often the real date that matters, as we explain in How Long Does It Take to Build an AI Data Center?.

The utility side. Entergy gets new grid and storage assets built in its territory that a single customer pays for. The release does not say how the contract will treat those assets on Entergy's books, what Google pays after the 20-year term, or what happens if the campus uses less power than planned. Those terms will only be visible once Entergy files the contract with the Commission.

What does it change?

Near term (to the 2028 in-service date)

• A new filing replaces a failed one. Entergy must take the Google-funded package back to the same Commission. It says the filing will follow the Commission's recommendations and show the contract terms to the Commission staff and the Attorney General. The September order invited exactly this: it said a new application could carry "a different economic analysis" if a Google agreement changed the value of the clean energy credits.
• More cost moves into hyperscaler budgets. When the data center owner pays for batteries, substations and contracts that a utility would once have put into rates, that money shows up in the owner's spending, not in the utility bill. We cover where to look for it in Which Hyperscaler Capex Lines to Watch This Earnings Season?.
• The grid build is the schedule. Two 230 kV lines and a substation expansion need equipment, permits and crews. If any of those slip, the campus ramp slips with them, whatever the solar plant does.

Longer term (2028 and after)

• Arkansas adds about 1,040 MW of solar and 2,800 MWh of batteries. Entergy says the new resources, together with the Arkansas Cypress Solar and Battery project now being built in Jefferson County, add more than 1,000 MW of solar and 2,800 MWh of storage. Our arithmetic: 440 MW plus Cypress's 600 MW is 1,040 MW, and the new 1,400 MWh plus Cypress's 1,400 MWh is 2,800 MWh, which fits a 350 MW, four-hour battery at Cypress as described when Google's project was first announced in October 2025.
• The savings claim grew. In October 2025 Entergy said Google's first phase would bring more than $1.1 billion in net benefits. It now cites $1.6 billion for that phase. The release does not explain the change. Our arithmetic: the new $500 million spread evenly over 20 years is about $25 million a year, or about $34 per customer per year across 738,000 customers, before any discounting.
• What we cannot see yet: the price of the Big Island contract, the battery power ratings in MW, how much grid capacity the campus can draw before the new lines are built, and the exact campus size from Google itself. None of these are in the public record today.

What should we watch next?

• 28 October 2026: Alphabet third-quarter results. The call is at 1:30 pm Pacific time (04:30 SGT on 29 October). Watch the capital spending figure and any comment on paying for power and grid upgrades at its own sites. For what Google's spending feeds, see What Does Google Do?.
• 2 November 2026: Entergy third-quarter earnings call, 10:00 am Central time (midnight SGT going into 3 November). Watch for when Entergy Arkansas files the Google expansion with the Commission, and whether the request to reconsider the original Big Island ruling is still live.
• The Commission filing itself. It has no date yet. The contract terms, the battery ratings and any limits on how much power the campus can draw before 2028 will be in it.
• What would weaken the catalyst: the Commission rejecting or delaying the new filing, a slip in the substation and line work, or contract terms showing other customers still carry part of the cost.

FAQ

Who pays for the Big Island solar contract now?
Google, under a new contract with Entergy Arkansas. Entergy says Google will pay the full cost of the resources for the 20-year term, and the cost will not be charged through the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider.

Why did Arkansas regulators reject Big Island in September?
The Commission found Entergy had not shown the contract's cost was reasonable or that it would save customers money against other options, including buying power in the regional market. It also flagged a likely capacity accreditation of 13% or lower.

Is the Google-funded deal approved?
No. Entergy still has to file the expansion with the Arkansas Public Service Commission. The expected in-service date is 2028, pending approval.

How big is Google's West Memphis data center?
Google has not given a megawatt figure in the sources we checked. Data Center Dynamics reports a planned 600 MW campus, with first grid service expected from February 2027 and full capacity by October 2029.

Takeaway: Arkansas said other customers would not carry Google's solar contract, so Google is carrying it, and that cost of getting power approved is now part of what an AI data center costs.

References

1. Entergy Arkansas, "Entergy Arkansas announces enhanced partnership at Google West Memphis campus, delivering at least $500M in new savings for all customers", 19 Oct 2026. The $600 million package, 440 MW contract, 1,000 MWh and 400 MWh batteries, Galet substation and 230 kV lines, $500 million and $2.1 billion figures, 738,000 customers, 2028 in-service date.
2. Arkansas Public Service Commission, Docket No. 26-003-U, Order No. 6, 16 Sep 2026. The denial, the 13% accreditation concern, the 3% first-year energy share and the invitation to file a new application.
3. Data Center Dynamics, "Google expands partnership with Entergy Arkansas, will fund renewable energy and grid upgrades for West Memphis data center", 20 Oct 2026. The 600 MW campus, February 2027 first grid service and October 2029 full ramp.
4. Entergy Arkansas, "Entergy Arkansas powers Google's $4B investment in the state", 2 Oct 2025. The $4 billion investment, the 600 MW solar and 350 MW battery project and the earlier $1.1 billion benefit estimate.
5. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "Entergy asks Public Service Commission to reconsider its 20-year agreement for Mississippi County solar project", 9 Oct 2026. The request to reconsider.
6. Alphabet, "Alphabet Announces Date of Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call", 6 Oct 2026. The 28 October call time.
7. Entergy, "Third Quarter Earnings call and Teleconference", checked 20 Oct 2026. The 2 November call at 10:00 am Central time.
8. Reuters via The Korea Times, "Nvidia-backed Nscale, Anthropic in talks for new $45 bil. AI cloud deal, source says", 20 Oct 2026. The talks, the 460 MW second Monarch building and the right of first refusal.
9. Tenstorrent, "Tenstorrent Announces a $1.5B Series E at a $6.2B valuation", 19 Oct 2026. The round size, valuation and lead investors.
10. Amazon, "Amazon opens its AWS Trainium AI chips to every PyTorch developer, no rewrite needed", 19 Oct 2026. TorchNeuron, Trainium2 and Trainium3 support and the Apache 2.0 release.

Not investment advice. The 33-day gap, the 57 MW of firm capacity, the 1,040 MW and 2,800 MWh totals, the four-hour battery fit and the per-year and per-customer savings are our arithmetic from the sources above.