US technology giant Meta and developer EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 250MW Cypress Knee Solar project in the US.
The project is currently under construction in Arkansas, and EDPR NA expects it to be completed in 2028. This is one year later than the proposed start of commercial operations date of 2027 referenced in EDP’s documentation of the project.
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The utility has invested more than US$400 million into the project, and this marks the third PPA to be signed between the companies for US renewable power projects. In 2024, EDP started operations at a 200MW solar project in Arizona, at which Meta agreed to acquire all of the power generated, and the two companies have now signed PPAs for 545MW of renewable energy capacity across the country.
“Our partnership with Meta demonstrates how long-term collaborations are essential to accelerate the energy transition at scale,” said EDP CEO Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade.
“Through our partnership with EDPR, Cypress Knee Solar will bring new generation to the Arkansas grid, creating local jobs and delivering economic benefits to the community,” added Meta head of clean and renewable energy Amanda Yang.
Despite only placing 18th in the Solar Energy Industries Association’s latest ranking of the leading US states for solar, Arkansas has seen notable recent PV project activity driven by the escalating power needs of data centre infrastructure. Last year Entergy announced plans to build a solar-plus-storage project in Memphis to power a Google data centre, and Arkansas was one of the states included in a portfolio of projects developed by Invenergy and Meta across the US.
