NextEra to build utility-scale solar-plus-storage project in Arizona

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Image: Flickr user Tim Fuller

NextEra Energy Resources will build a 10MW lithium-ion battery storage system paired with a 20MW PV installation for Arizona utility Salt River Project, with another battery system on the way.

A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, which is itself a subsidiary of Florida-headquartered power generation company NextEra Energy, will construct and own the facility in Pinal County, near Coolidge, Arizona.  

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Salt River Project (SRP) has brokered a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with NextEra, and will therefore buy all of the power generated at the Pinal Central Energy Centre, as the project will be known. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The single-axis tracker PV farm will charge the battery for use when the sun is not shining, with Salt River Project likely to evaluate its usefulness in countering periods of peak demand and otherwise optimising the use and consumption of power from solar generation assets.

Community-based, not-for-profit utility SRP held a competitive solicitation process for the project and through this approved another battery facility, a 10MW system with four hours’ duration of energy storage, charging from the grid. However, SRP declined to give further details of this project until PPAs have been secured.

SRP has a goal in place to source 20% of its retail electricity from sustainable sources by 2020.

Arizona has a few large-scale energy storage projects in operation, mostly on a trial basis. This includes two 10MW projects for utility Tucson Electric Power, announced last year, one of which will be built by NextEra and the other by E.On.  

Read Next

July 9, 2025
Neoen Australia has increased the size of the BESS co-located at the 440MWp Culcairn solar PV power plant in New South Wales.
July 9, 2025
Australian renewables developer Edify Energy has submitted plans for a 2,400MWh solar-plus-storage project to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
July 8, 2025
Developer and independent power producer (IPP) Recurrent Energy, subsidiary of Canadian Solar, announced commercial operation of its 1,200MWh Papago Storage facility in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Premium
July 8, 2025
ESN Premium speaks with Sahand Karimi, co-founder and CEO of Australian AI-driven energy management company OptiGrid, on the new FPP reform.
July 4, 2025
Gamuda has partnered with landowners for a 1.2GW renewable energy and energy storage portfolio in Tasmania, Australia, which includes up to 600MW of energy storage capacity.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter