Solmar Insights
Google has entered a 15-year power purchase agreement with RWE for the full capacity of the 155MW Crooked Creek Solar project in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The project is scheduled to begin construction later this year, with commercial operations targeted for 2028, and is projected to provide approximately $25 million in revenue to the local county once operational.
Key figures
15-year PPA
155MW solar capacity
Up to $25 million in local revenue
250 peak construction jobs
Deal structure and project scope
The agreement between Google and RWE secures all 155MW generated by the Crooked Creek Solar project under a 15-year power purchase agreement. This deal supports Google’s operations within the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) market, providing a long-term supply of solar energy and aligning with the company’s broader decarbonization and sustainability goals. RWE, a leading global renewables developer, is making its first foray into solar in Oklahoma through this initiative, expanding its regional footprint that has historically focused on wind.
While PPA terms for such agreements often include fixed price components and delivery guarantees, specific contract prices were not disclosed. What is known from the announcement is that the project will deliver all generated solar output to Google, providing the technology company with a predictable energy hedge and a means to support the SPP area’s power grid with new renewable supply.
This move exemplifies the increasing trend among hyperscalers and major cloud operators toward direct procurement of renewable capacity to power their expanding digital infrastructure, particularly in regions where power mixes are still carbon-intensive.
Grid integration and market context
Crooked Creek Solar will inject its capacity directly into the Southwest Power Pool’s wholesale market. The SPP is a regional transmission operator covering Oklahoma, which manages transmission access and dispatches generation across a broad multi-state footprint. By contracting the plant’s capacity directly to Google, RWE enables the hyperscaler to claim the environmental attributes associated with the clean energy generated, which can be reported against its corporate sustainability targets.
In the SPP, grid integration of new solar is subject to interconnection study timelines and queue processes. While the article announces commercial operation for 2028, construction is set to begin later this year, suggesting that the project has reached a significant development milestone, possibly including interconnection approval. The addition of 155MW of new solar will marginally diversify the SPP grid, which is dominated by wind resources but increasingly active with solar projects.
This transaction demonstrates the mechanisms through which corporate offtakers anchor new renewable energy assets and help diversify regional resource mixes while securing their energy needs at scale.
Local economic and community impact
The Crooked Creek Solar project is expected to deliver significant economic benefits to McCurtain County and surrounding communities. During the construction phase, the project is projected to generate approximately $24.3 million in local economic activity and create up to 250 jobs at peak. Furthermore, state and local tax revenue contributions are estimated to reach $1.4 million throughout construction.
Post-construction, once the solar facility is operational, around $25 million in total revenue is forecast for McCurtain County. These funds are expected to be allocated to local programs, emergency services, schools, and regional technology education centers. Such allocations are common among utility-scale renewable projects, boosting local public services and supporting workforce development initiatives. These local benefits form a key narrative in project siting and permitting.
Community impact is a significant part of RWE’s stated project development strategy, positioning utility-scale solar not only as a clean energy investment but also as a regional economic accelerator. This is increasingly relevant as large developers seek offtake partners in new states and underserved energy markets.
Google’s position in regional energy procurement
The PPA with RWE for Crooked Creek Solar supports Google’s ongoing efforts to procure carbon-free energy for its operations and data centers in the Southwest. As digital infrastructure growth continues to fuel electricity demand, particularly for AI and cloud workloads, technology firms increasingly look to long-term PPAs to support both grid reliability and corporate decarbonization mandates.
By directly contracting with a developer for all output, Google is able to secure Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) or Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), allowing the company to directly match renewable generation to its local energy consumption and bolster its climate neutrality reporting. These procurement strategies are widely adopted among hyperscalers seeking to hedge energy price volatility and address growing scrutiny of IT sector emissions, especially in locations with fossil-heavy grids.
Moreover, the transaction underscores the continued role of major technology buyers as anchor offtakers in emerging regional solar markets, catalyzing project development by providing the revenue certainty developers require for financing and construction.
RWE’s project pipeline and strategy
Crooked Creek Solar is RWE’s inaugural solar project in Oklahoma, but the company maintains a broader development pipeline in the state. In addition to the operational Boiling Springs wind project, RWE currently has six other energy projects in its Oklahoma portfolio, totaling 1.6GW across various technologies.
The agreement with Google is consistent with RWE’s North American strategy to deliver both affordable and reliable power, while focusing on generating local benefits and building community relationships around each new asset. The company’s approach has included supporting regional economic development and channeling project revenue to support infrastructure, educational facilities, and public services.
Beyond Oklahoma, RWE continues to progress its renewable generation portfolio in the United States and abroad. Recent milestones include first power delivered from the Nordseecluster A offshore wind farm to the German grid, pointing to the company’s resume with complex, multi-region development and execution capabilities. For US investors and developers, RWE’s Oklahoma project signals continued appetite for utility-scale solar PPAs with creditworthy buyers in SPP and other RTO markets.
What this means for buyers
For power buyers and investors in the US energy sector, the Google-RWE PPA demonstrates growing demand for long-term renewable offtake in the SPP region. The structure highlights the importance of securing local economic benefits and regulatory support in siting major energy projects. It also illustrates how large corporate offtakers can help new utility-scale solar projects clear market, interconnection, and financing hurdles in competitive ISO regions. The deal is a signal for institutional buyers watching SPP and Oklahoma as emerging corridors for utility-solar and hybrid deals, particularly with data center demand on the rise.
