Large solar project in Texas will power Google’s data centers and cloud operations

A company backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Ares Climate Infrastructure announced that three of its solar power projects are now online in Texas. SB Energy, a renewable energy group focused on utility-scale installations, said the solar farms – with a combined generation capacity of about 900 MW – support the state’s electric grid and provide power for Google’s data centers and its cloud region in the will deliver to the Dallas area.

The Orion I, Orion II and Orion III facilities, collectively known as the Orion Solar Belt, are located in Milam County. SB Energy said Oct. 18 that the projects are expected to be eligible for the domestic content bonus credit included in the Inflation Reduction Act. According to SB Energy, the solar farms use more than 1.3 million U.S.-made modules, as well as domestic steel and other U.S.-made components.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attended the opening ceremony for the Orion project on Friday along with representatives from SB Energy. “The Biden-Harris Administration envisioned a clean energy industrial strategy built and installed by American workers, powering American businesses in proud American communities. This future is seen in action through the Orion Solar Belt in Texas,” Granholm said. “This project shows how American-made clean energy can power data centers and our future.”

Components made in the USA

Officials said the project employed an estimated 3,000 U.S. workers through component manufacturing and construction. The more than 1.3 million solar modules were manufactured by First Solar at its facility in Perrysburg, Ohio. The 22,800 tons of structural steel for the entire project comes from Gerdau steel mills in Midlothian, Texas and Cartersville, Georgia.

The Orion Solar Belt also features Nextracker smart solar trackers, with most components manufactured domestically. SB Energy hired Blattner, a Minnesota-based construction company, to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.

“When it comes to creating American jobs and powering the world’s largest energy consumers, SB Energy is committed to leading the roadmap,” said Rich Hossfeld, co-CEO of SB Energy. “We are grateful for the support of Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the many federal, local and state leaders, as well as Google. We hope the Orion Solar Belt serves as a catalyst for growing investment in a robust, American-made solar energy supply chain.”

PPA with Google

SB Energy, which entered the US market in 2019, announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google for the project in 2022. The company said the PPA represents Google’s largest global investment in solar energy and supports the company’s goal of running entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030.

Earlier this year, Google announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in Texas to support its cloud and data center infrastructure. The company said the projects would help meet growing demand for Google Cloud and artificial intelligence, as well as the company’s other digital products and services such as Search, Maps and Workspace. Google operates a data center campus in Midlothian and is building a new campus in Red Oak; Both properties are located in Ellis County, Texas.

“Google’s data centers are home to some of the world’s most popular services and are an important economic engine for the 21st century economy. Our goal is to ensure that the services and products that people and customers use every day are powered by reliable, carbon-free energy 24/7,” said Ben Sloss, Vice President of 24×7 & Capacity at Google. “We are excited to see SB Energy’s Orion Solar Belt come online and help build a stronger future for communities and Google in Texas.”

Chia Yuan Wang, Gerdau’s president of North American long steel operations, said: “The commercial operation of the Orion solar belt is a tremendous achievement for the domestic steel industry and the U.S. solar industry. As a direct result of SB Energy’s Orion Solar Belt and other solar projects across the country, we have expanded our U.S. operations to support the solar industry at our Midlothian, Texas, and Cartersville, Georgia locations. We thank SB Energy for its leadership and look forward to continuing to support the solar industry.”

Texas leads the nation in installed renewable energy resources; The country currently gets around 30% of its electricity from renewable energies. Officials said the state has about 70 GW of installed solar, wind and energy storage capacity, according to the American Clean Power Group.

Google has said in recent weeks that it also wants to use nuclear energy, primarily from small modular reactors, to power some of its global data centers. The company signed a deal with Kairos Power earlier this month to purchase energy from a fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors.

—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).