By BEX Staff for AZBEX
The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of a Comprehensive Plan amendment that will enable Copia Power to develop a large-scale energy development on unincorporated land southwest of Selma Highway and Midway Road.
The Griffin Energy Project proposal is a 2,685-acre solar and battery energy storage system development planned to feed the Energy Generation and Technology Campus from W Holdings, which was also reviewed and recommended in the Oct. 16 meeting.
Local news reports say the energy project is expected to provide up to 550MW through the solar and battery components and up to 500MW from a gas-fired power plant.
Project representatives differentiated the Griffin project from the myriad other energy projects proposed in Pinal over the last several years, saying it is specifically intended to serve the data center project. A submitted economic impact analysis expects the projects will create nearly $10B in total investment, with total tax revenues to Arizona and Pinal County coming in at more than $1.1B over a 25-year span. Employment impacts are projected at 508 direct jobs and 588 indirect jobs, totaling $66M/year in wages.
Both projects will now advance to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration.
The landowner is W Holdings (as Stanfield 1295, LLC). Copia Power (as Griffin Energy, LLC) is the developer. The land planning and engineering firm is Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc., and Rose Law Group is the project representative. (Source)
