Copia Power seeks rezoning for 3,100-acre solar and data center project near Phoenix
Another solar plant project with battery energy storage systems to help power future data centers is in the works outside of Phoenix.
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Copia Power, which develops, builds and operates grid-connected power and data center infrastructure, is working to rezone about 3,100 acres near Tonopah in the far West Valley for its latest project, the Belmont Energy Center, according to planning documents filed with Maricopa County.
Most of the project site – about 2,860 acres – would be for utility-scale solar energy generation, while about 320 acres would be used for a gas generation facility, BESS and data centers, according to a project narrative.
It’s part of a planned 30,000-acre digital and power infrastructure campusin the Harquahala Valley, about an hour’s drive west of Phoenix. Copia owns some of project parcels while others are owned by a group of investors.
Copia just completed its flagship project within the larger planned campus – a $1.2 billion, 450-megawatt solar farm with 1,200 megawatt hours of battery storage. In April it received rezoning approvals to expand that initial phase by 700 acres while allowing for data center uses.
It’s now working on its overall Maricopa Energy Centers development, which will have 550 megawatts of solar capacity and 2,200 megawatt hours of battery storage. The project is backed by a $1.7 billion construction loan and has a power purchase agreement with APS. It’s expected to be operational within the next year.
Copia was founded in 2021 – backed by global investment firm The Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG) – with a focus on grid-connected campuses, or gigawatt-scale power generation facilities and data centers at strategic high-voltage grid locations.
Last month Swedish Investment firm EQT announced it was acquiring Copia, with the deal expected to close later this year.
Copia officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Its latest 3,100-acre Belmont Energy Center project is early in the entitlement process. A planning and zoning commission hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Multiple landowners across total project site
There are five landowners included in that overall project site, with most of the acreage owned by Harquahala Valley Farms LLC and WPI HD2 Farm Az LLC. A site context map included in planning documents notes several adjacent parcels are currently owned by the Arizona State Land Department.
The ASLD auctioned seven solar leases in its past fiscal year – more than it ever has before in a single year, according to its FY 2026 report, amid exploding growth for power to operate data centers.
The far West Valley is home to a growing number of planned energy generation and data center projects across tens of thousands of acres of vacant desert.
Also in Tonopah, which is about 25 miles west of Buckeye on I-10, Arizona Land Consulting is setting up a data center and power plant hub on roughly 4,000 acres it owns across three sites. The largest site, Hassayampa Ranch, spans 2,000 acres and is projected to bring 60 data center buildings.