Editorial: Wind power in Pinal
Electricity demand in Arizona just keeps growing, with more people here and more use of the power in many ways. Along with that comes a desire for “clean energy,” or power generation without emissions. A switch from coal to natural gas power plants has helped. However, use of renewable energy is attractive to most people. Now, a major source of wind energy has come to the state, specifically to a connection point in Pinal County.
The SunZia project has been discussed in Pinal for a long time, as it went through the planning and construction process. Building big projects is more difficult now than in earlier times, and SunZia faced lawsuits and political opposition along the way. However, it now is complete. The line runs north generally from San Manuel to Florence, then south to Eloy and west, partially along the San Pedro River.
The owner, private company Pattern Energy, has developed SunZia Wind in north-central New Mexico, which has 916 turbines. That is paired with SunZia Transmission, a 550-mile transmission line approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2016 after 10 years of planning. According to a report this week to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, 600 megawatts of the power will stay in New Mexico. About 500 megawatts will go to California, leaving 2.5 gigawatts in Arizona. Salt River Project is planning to buy 600 mW, and the rest is likely to go to other Arizona utilities. The price of the SRP sale was not revealed, but obviously it was acceptable. One gigabyte can power 750,000 to a million homes, so this project is significant.
In the past, there was an unrealistic proposal placed on the Arizona ballot, and rejected by voters, to mandate a large amount of renewable energy production. The SunZia project shows that market forces are best for making that kind of change. Pinal County has utility infrastructure that was planned and placed here many years ago in open spaces. That planning by utilities has proven crucial for not only the county but the state overall.