Arizona's Salt River Project board of directors approved development of the Marigold Energy Center, a mixed-resource power plant in Stanfield that will help the utility meet growing electricity demand across Maricopa and Pinal counties. The project will include 600 megawatts of solar generation, 400 megawatts of eight-hour battery storage and up to 675 megawatts of natural gas generation, along with a new 230-kilovolt and 500-kilovolt substation and about four miles of new transmission lines.
SRP Associate General Manager and Chief Power System Executive Bobby Olsen said the mix of resources represents "a balanced system approach to providing affordable, reliable and sustainable power to meet increasing customer demand during all hours of the day and night."
The project is part of SRP's broader plan to more than double the capacity of its power system by 2035, adding natural gas, renewable and storage resources across its service territory. Electrical District No. 3, a regional public power utility serving Maricopa, Stanfield and surrounding communities, is evaluating a partnership with SRP to procure a share of the energy the new plant generates.
Construction is expected to begin in January 2027, with the plant scheduled to come online in 2032. Marigold is expected to create 300 to 400 jobs during peak construction and up to 45 permanent positions once operational. SRP has filed for a certificate of environmental compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission, with a siting hearing scheduled for late September and a decision expected in November.
The approval comes as electric utilities nationwide face surging large-load demand, with SRP itself identifying data centers among the fastest-growing categories of customers straining generation and transmission planning.
Source: AZ Big Media - https://azbigmedia.com/business/srp-board-approves-marigold-energy-center-in-stanfield/