EDP Renewables North America has broken ground on Cypress Knee Solar, a 250 megawatt (MW) solar project in Chicot County, Arkansas, whose output is contracted to Meta under a long-term power purchase agreement. Work started exactly six months after that deal was signed, and the plant is scheduled for completion in 2028.
The groundbreaking was announced on November 4, 2026. EDP Renewables North America, the Houston-based arm of Portuguese developer EDP Renewables, says the project will bring about $25 million to Chicot County over its life and support several hundred construction jobs at its peak. Local television reporting has put the output at enough electricity for more than 40,000 homes.
Meta’s Third Deal With EDP Renewables
Cypress Knee is the third energy agreement between Meta and EDP Renewables North America. The power purchase agreement announced in May 2026 lifted the total capacity procured between the two companies to 545 MW.
Earlier projects in the partnership include the Cattlemen Solar Park in Texas and a 200 MW solar park linked to a Meta data center in Arizona. Meta has said it matches all of its annual electricity use with new clean and renewable energy, and long-term contracts like this one give developers a revenue stream they can finance against.
Amanda Yang, head of clean and renewable energy at Meta, said when the deal was signed that the project would bring new generation to the Arkansas grid along with local jobs.
Why Southeast Arkansas?
Chicot County sits in the Mississippi River Delta in the far southeast of the state, on the Louisiana border. EDP’s community materials place the site near Lake Village, on flat terrain, and the project takes its name from the cypress trees common in the area.
Across the state line, Meta is investing in power infrastructure for its $27 billion Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Neither company has tied Cypress Knee to that campus. The May announcement described the plant as new generation for the Arkansas grid, so any link to Hyperion remains unconfirmed.
What Does Chicot County Get?
The $25 million figure flows through an Industrial Revenue Bond agreement with the county over the project’s 30-year life, according to EDP’s open house presentation. Spread evenly, that works out to roughly $830,000 a year.
EDP’s projections divide those payments among the Lakeside School District, county roads, the local hospital and library, and the county’s general and discretionary funds. The developer has also donated more than $77,000 to local causes during development, including a school greenhouse, the Lakeside robotics team and the Lake Village food pantry.
Who Is Building It?
EDP has not named an engineering, procurement and construction contractor, a panel supplier or a construction cost for the plant.
At 250 MW, Cypress Knee matches the Driver Solar plant near Osceola, which Entergy Arkansas described as the largest solar facility in the state when regulators approved it. Driver Solar was built under a build-transfer agreement and sits beside U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel mill, whose sustainability goals it was designed to support.
Big technology buyers are now contracting Delta solar on both sides of the state line. In northeast Louisiana, the Bayou Galion Solar project in Morehouse Parish has been generating power since November 2024, with Microsoft buying all of its energy and renewable energy credits. At 98 MWac, the Recurrent Energy plant is less than half the size of Cypress Knee.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Cypress Knee Solar
- Developer and Owner: EDP Renewables North America
- Power Buyer: Meta, under a long-term power purchase agreement signed in May 2026
- Location: Chicot County, near Lake Village, Arkansas
- Project Type: Utility-scale solar photovoltaic
- Capacity: 250 MW
- Homes Powered: More than 40,000, per local television reporting
- Groundbreaking: Announced November 4, 2026
- Target Completion: 2028
- Construction Jobs: Several hundred at peak, per EDP
- Local Revenue: About $25 million to Chicot County over 30 years, through an Industrial Revenue Bond agreement
- Community Contributions: More than $77,000 donated during development
- Meta and EDP Partnership: Third agreement, 545 MW procured in total
- Project Cost and EPC Contractor: Not publicly disclosed
Project Team
- Developer and Owner: EDP Renewables North America
- Power Buyer: Meta
- Host County: Chicot County, Arkansas
- EPC Contractor: Not yet disclosed
Leave a Reply