Entergy Arkansas has asked the Arkansas Public Service Commission to approve two battery energy storage facilities with a combined estimated construction cost of $550.6 million, linking the projects to Google’s planned expansion in West Memphis.
The utility filed the request Thursday as part of its work to supply electricity for Google’s data center campus, which the company is building at an estimated cost of $4 billion. Entergy said the projects would be located at existing utility sites in Mississippi and Hot Spring counties and are expected to enter service by June 2028.
The proposed facilities
The larger project, called the Driver BESS, would be a 250-megawatt battery system at Entergy’s Driver Solar site near Osceola. Driver Solar is a 250-megawatt solar field covering about 2,100 acres. Entergy’s website says the solar project has been operating since 2024 and has the capacity to power more than 40,000 homes.
The second project, the Jones Mill BESS, would have a capacity of 100 megawatts and would be built next to the Arklahoma substation in Hot Spring County. Entergy said both facilities are designed to provide four hours of battery storage.
“The facilities are designed as four-hour battery storage systems.” — Kristin Dalrymple, vice president of business operations for Entergy
Entergy’s regulatory filing says the two projects are expected to produce about $561 million in net benefits for customers. The Public Service Commission approved a special rate contract between Entergy and Google in December. Entergy also has filed an application concerning an amended agreement with Google that would support the data center expansion and incorporate the battery facilities.
Part of a larger power plan
The battery projects would be added to a broader arrangement between the utility and Google. Under the original special rate contract, Entergy is developing Cypress Solar, a proposed $1.6 billion project in Jefferson County that includes a 600-megawatt solar field and a 350-megawatt battery facility. Entergy said the solar generation would feed the grid serving Google’s West Memphis data center.
- Driver BESS: 250 megawatts at the Driver Solar site near Osceola.
- Jones Mill BESS: 100 megawatts near the Arklahoma substation in Hot Spring County.
- Targeted service date: June 2028.
The commission’s consideration of the filing will determine whether Entergy can proceed with the two storage facilities as part of the utility’s plan to meet the data center’s electricity demand. The projects would add battery capacity at two Arkansas utility locations while the company continues work on the larger solar-and-storage development in Jefferson County.
