Google and Entergy's Power Plant Funding Partnership Under Scrutiny in Arkansas

Arkansas lawmakers questioned representatives from Google and Entergy during a meeting of the Joint Energy Committee on Tuesday. The committee was investigating how the two companies are funding the construction of a new power plant, Cypress Solar, to support Google's massive West Memphis data center.

Google had previously stated that it would fully cover the cost of new Entergy power generation needed for its data center, but leaked contract information obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette called this claim into question. The newspaper reported that Google would only pay a third of the $1.6 billion cost to construct Cypress Solar.

Entergy countered that Google will actually pay it well over $2 billion over the life of the project. Rachel Wilson, Google's energy market development representative, stated that 'Google has demonstrated its commitment to doing data center development in the right way, a way that protects Arkansas ratepayers.'

The cost of constructing new power plants is being passed on to Entergy customers through the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act (GAJA) rider. This adds about $5 to the average residential Entergy customer's bill, with a third of this going towards Cypress Solar.