Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources have announced commissioning of Sonoran Solar Energy Center, a 260 MW solar plant with a 1 GWh BESS located south of Buckeye, Arizona.
The solar and battery storage system is not only adding clean energy to the grid but will also help match the electricity consumed by Google’s upcoming data center campus in Mesa, Arizona. Excess energy will be used to meet other SRP customer needs.
The organizations also commissioned Storey Energy Center, an 88 MW solar and battery storage facility, located in Coolidge, Arizona, to support Google.
Both the facilities support the clean energy transition of SRP’s power system and are operated by subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources. They jointly generate enough energy to power nearly 80,000 average size homes, and can store clean energy for up to four hours to support the power grid when there is high power demand.
Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, an under development 161 MW wind facility on Babbitt Ranches property in Coconino County, north of Flagstaff, introduced by SRP and NextEra Energy Resources, will also support Google.
Google is following net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030 and targets to operate its data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy. The projects contribute to these commitments by supporting the energy needs of Google’s future data center in Mesa, which plans to use air-cooled technology.
Through its Integrated System Plan, SRP found it will need to double the number of power resources on its power system in the next 10 years to meet growing energy demand in the Phoenix metropolitan area and as it retires 2,600 MW of coal resources.
"These renewable energy centers will generate low-cost, homegrown energy and provide millions of dollars in additional revenue to both Maricopa and Pinal counties over the life of the projects," said Anthony Pedroni, Vice President of Renewables and Storage Development at NextEra Energy Resources.”
Total solar capacity on SRP’s power system will exceed its goal, equaling more than 2,400 MW, once all under-development solar is operational. SRP’s total battery storage will be more than 1,100 MW by the end of 2024 with an additional battery energy storage capacity under development.
