Following an extensive revision of its original plans for partial reversal of an earlier energy center on 160 acres east of Coolidge, NextEra Energy Resources has secured approvals from the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.
In what the company is now calling its Valley Farms 1.0 proposal, NextEra had originally proposed the Valley Farms Energy Center to cover 160 acres, including 80 acres of solar arrays and 80 acres for a battery energy storage system. The updated proposal, known as Valley Farms 2.0, eliminates the solar arrays, reduces the BESS area to 20 acres and shifts the location and setbacks to better fit the surrounding space.
The plan also adds a 10-foot wall on the north side that wraps the project corners.
The Board rejected the original plan in April 2025 but reversed its denial and approved the updated requests in a 4-0 vote this month. The three requests before the Supervisors consisted of a land use change, industrial rezoning and a development overlay to exclusively allow for power uses. The land use change was needed to remove the 2023 Green Energy Production use designation that applied only to solar uses, which is no longer relevant.
The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended denial of all three requests in a May hearing, citing a lack of support by nearby landowners, general opposition in the overall community and potential impacts to the planned North-South Corridor road development.
The 400-megawatt Valley Farms Energy Center is planned on 68.77 acres at the NWC of Bartlett and Clemans roads. After all County reviews are completed, construction is expected to take approximately 14 months, with completion expected in 2027 and the battery system coming online before summer 2028.
Salt River Project has a contract in place to receive power from the facility once it is operational. (Source: Pinal Post)