Nation’s largest solar energy project breaks ground in Wilson

WILSON, Ark. (KAIT) — Officials broke ground Monday on the Steel River Energy Center, a solar energy facility that will be the largest solar project with storage in the country once complete.

The project, managed by Cypress Creek Energy, is located off West County Road 940 in Mississippi County.

The Steel River Energy Center will add 1.6 gigawatt hours of new power generation and 1.9 gigawatt hours of energy storage during its first two phases. When fully complete, the third phase will generate 2.5 gigawatt hours of solar energy and store 2.9 gigawatt hours — enough to power more than 315,000 Arkansas homes for 30 to 40 years.

Tech giant Google has agreed to purchase power from the project’s first two phases.

Kevin Smith, CEO of Cypress Creek Energy, said site selection came down to solar resources, grid access, and a willing utility partner.

“One, is it has to do with whether there’s solar resource,” Smith said. “It’s nice and sunny in Arkansas. But really, it’s access to the transmission system and the grid and the willingness of a company like Entergy Arkansas to kind of help us interconnect to their system.”

Smith said the project’s materials will be sourced largely from within the region. Steel for the solar panel mounts will come primarily from PACO Steel in Blytheville and U.S. Steel’s Big River Facility in Osceola, contributing a combined nearly 550,000 tons of steel. Additional steel and solar panel components will come from Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana.

“Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana,” Smith said. “100% of the steel will be manufactured in the U.S. And the vast majority will be coming right here from Mississippi County.”

Cypress Creek Energy also plans to keep its workforce in-house, with employees working directly for the company and living in Mississippi County.

At the groundbreaking, Cypress Creek Energy and partners presented three checks totaling $620,000 to Rivercrest Public Schools. Google pledged an additional $5 million to the district.

Rivercrest Superintendent Shantele Raper said the contributions were unlike anything the district had received before.

“We have never seen substantial contributions like this,” Raper said. ”The investments that they’re making in our students, those are things that are not in a school budget. Those things would be very difficult to manage without these contributions today.”

Raper said the funds could go toward a new playground, security gates along Interstate 55, and potential updates to school buildings constructed roughly 50 years ago.

“Mississippi County can only be as good as the community, and the community can only be as good as the schools,” Raper said.

Smith described the donations as part of a long-term commitment to the area.

“It’s a $400,000 investment by us,” Smith said. “We’re looking at increasing that as we move forward. So, we’re looking to be a long-term community member. We’re going to have people here permanently. And we want to see the community thrive.”

The project has a construction deadline of two to four years.

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