1,263-acre energy project near Eloy gets rezoning OK
Despite wide local backlash, a 1,263-acre solar energy and battery storage project near Eloy, south of Phoenix, has received approval for both an industrial rezoning and planned area development overlay, as multiple similar projects work their way through the review process.
The Eloy Valley Energy Center III in Pinal County is a proposed utility scale solar generation facility that will combine a 400-megawatt, four-hour battery energy storage system and a new substation with 400 megawatts of solar energy.
According to a project narrative, Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources – one of the world’s largest utilities holding companies – is behind the venture. The project’s production is contracted to Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, a nonprofit wholesaler in Pinal County which offers utilities in rural areas.
The site is situated in unincorporated part of the county, west of Picacho Peak State Park, and property records show that it is currently owned by Donley Family Trust and John Patrick and Melinda Donley Trust, per previous Business Journal reporting.
The Pinal County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 7-1 in favor of the rezoning at its July 16 meeting.
Pinal County staff tallied 22 letters of support and 12 letters of opposition regarding the project. Those in favor included Eloy’s current and former mayors, its Chamber of Commerce and the Eloy Fire District.
Prior to the vote, Commission Chairman Robert Klob explained that many applicants claim to have support without real proof. However, he said this project stood out because it had visible support.
“Not only are you claiming the support, but you brought the people to say, ‘No, we’re supporting it. We’re writing the checks,’” Klob said. “So that means a lot to me.”
Commission exec: Solar projects should have own zoning code
Those against the project highlighted the increasing loss of rural land.
“Combined with the other energy project rezoning requests from the past and the ones that are coming through the process, we are losing Pinal County,” said Robin Davis, a Hidden Valley resident. “I urge the denial of recommendation until our laws, codes and ordinances can catch up to the onslaught of these requests.”
Vice Chairman Karen Mooney believes Pinal County should have a separate zoning category altogether for solar and battery storage. Currently, the energy center is being put under the same microscope as airstrips, heliports, junk and salvage yards and adult-oriented businesses.
“To throw this solar or others into the same setback requirements gives me severe heartburn,” Mooney said. “So it’s on record, we should have a zoning code for this.”
The project still needs the green light on both requests from Pinal County’s Board of Supervisors before anything is final. Should that happen, it would still need to get through a site plan review.
Once these hurdles are satisfied, construction could get underway by the end of this year, with operations estimated to begin as early as December 2027.
Other Pinal County projects considered, approved
The Eloy Valley Energy Center III is just one of several energy and data center projects being considered in Pinal County.
The Rosebud Energy Project, Verdin Solar Project and ASLD Solar and Batter Project were all addressed in the same meeting, each of which would also focus on solar generation and battery storage.
A few weeks prior, the county’s Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the Valley Farms Energy Center near Coolidge July 1. That project saw significant opposition from locals as well.
On June 16, the Florence Town Council unanimously approved a land use change for the Copper Crossing energy storage research site located in northern Florence, furthering Salt River Project’s non-lithium battery research capabilities.
A day later, the Copper Basin battery storage project got the green light from Pinal County’s Board of Supervisors.