Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant

谷歌最大的清洁能源项目位于 xAI 未经许可的天然气发电厂以北 40 英里处

Google said it has made its largest solar power and battery storage purchase to date. The first two phases of the project, located in Arkansas, will generate enough electricity to power about 6% of the state’s peak demand, the company said earlier this week. 谷歌表示，该公司已完成了迄今为止规模最大的太阳能和电池储能采购。本周早些时候，谷歌称该项目位于阿肯色州，其前两个阶段所产生的电力足以满足该州约 6% 的高峰用电需求。

Electricity from the project will flow directly to the grid, offsetting demand from Google’s data centers. Google is both investing in the project alongside developer Cypress Creek Energy and purchasing the entire output of the first two phases, adding 1 gigawatt of solar capacity and 1.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage to its portfolio. 该项目产生的电力将直接并入电网，以抵消谷歌数据中心的用电需求。谷歌不仅与开发商 Cypress Creek Energy 共同投资该项目，还购买了前两个阶段的全部电力输出，为其能源组合增加了 1 吉瓦的太阳能容量和 1.9 吉瓦时的电池储能。

When completed, the three-phase project will be the largest solar facility in the United States, the companies said. The third and final phase of the project is scheduled to connect to the grid in 2029, bringing the power plant’s total capacity to about 1.8 gigawatts of solar and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage. Cypress Creek has secured $3.5 billion in financing to support the first two phases. 相关公司表示，该三阶段项目建成后将成为美国最大的太阳能设施。项目的第三阶段（即最后阶段）计划于 2029 年并网，届时该发电厂的总容量将达到约 1.8 吉瓦的太阳能和 2.9 吉瓦时的电池储能。Cypress Creek 已获得 35 亿美元的融资，用于支持前两个阶段的建设。

The Steel River Energy Center, as the project is called, will be located about 30 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. By pairing solar panels with large batteries, the power plant will be able to provide power to the grid all day, every day. It will also help Google in its quest to match its electricity use with clean power on an hourly basis, a stringent measure that should help bring more hybrid power plants to the grid. 该项目被称为“钢铁河能源中心”（Steel River Energy Center），位于田纳西州孟菲斯以北约 30 英里处。通过将太阳能电池板与大型电池相结合，该发电厂将能够全天候向电网供电。这也将助力谷歌实现其目标，即按小时匹配其用电量与清洁能源，这一严格的衡量标准有望推动更多混合动力发电厂并入电网。

Google’s decision to invest in a large solar and battery facility stands in contrast to xAI, which operates an unpermitted natural gas power plant about 40 miles to the south. Elon Musk has invested heavily in natural gas to power xAI’s Colossus data centers, despite running Tesla, which makes solar panels and grid-scale batteries. 谷歌投资大型太阳能和电池设施的决定，与 xAI 形成了鲜明对比——后者在以南约 40 英里处运营着一家未经许可的天然气发电厂。尽管埃隆·马斯克经营着生产太阳能电池板和电网级电池的特斯拉，但他仍投入巨资使用天然气为 xAI 的 Colossus 数据中心供电。

XAI is running nearly 60 natural gas turbines without federal clean air permits, according to a report from Reuters. Pollution from xAI’s power plant in Mississippi is affecting predominantly Black neighborhoods, Reuters found. 据路透社报道，xAI 在没有联邦清洁空气许可证的情况下运行着近 60 台天然气涡轮机。路透社发现，xAI 位于密西西比州的发电厂所产生的污染正在影响以黑人为主的社区。

Musk is unlikely to change course. He recently purchased APR Energy, a project developer that specializes in modular natural gas power plants. Google has also invested in natural gas, working with Crusoe to build a 933-megawatt power plant in West Texas, though that project has been something of an anomaly for the company, which has mostly relied on clean power to expand its portfolio. 马斯克不太可能改变方针。他最近收购了专门从事模块化天然气发电厂的项目开发商 APR Energy。谷歌也曾投资过天然气，与 Crusoe 合作在西德克萨斯州建造了一座 933 兆瓦的发电厂，但该项目对谷歌而言属于例外，因为该公司主要依靠清洁能源来扩大其能源组合。

Given the speed with which projects like Steel River can be deployed — nearly 2 gigawatts of solar capacity in three years — it’s likely that Google will continue to invest in renewables and batteries. 考虑到像“钢铁河”这类项目部署的速度——三年内实现近 2 吉瓦的太阳能容量——谷歌很可能会继续投资可再生能源和电池。