Pinal Board Approves Power Plant

FLORENCE — Project Bella, a thermal gas-fired power plant with a battery energy storage system, has been approved 1½ miles south of Casa Grande and is expected to be in operation in the spring of 2028.

“I think everybody is OK with these projects as long as they’re in the right area,” Supervisor Jeff Serdy, R-Apache Junction, said. “This one’s in a good area that doesn’t offend anybody. So I think that’s the future going forward. … This is the right place. I think people appreciate that.”

In the public hearing Wednesday, Tina Dugan asked the Pinal County Board of Supervisors to guarantee fire protection before the plant is allowed to operate. “When you’re putting in something like this that could create a safety hazard, fire protection should be number one on all of your minds,” she said.

Alex Hayes, speaking for Seguro Energy Partners, said Project Bella is collaborating with Pinal fire and medical officials for emergency services for the plant and the surrounding area and will financially support those services.

“Project Bella has agreed to provide initial seed funding of $2.3 million to help get that off the ground. And then ongoing $250,000 a year for a period of 20 years, which would increase every year by 2.5%. This will help establish this fire and medical authority so they can provide that service to this entire area.”

This is in addition to the project’s own fire detection and suppression systems, Hayes said.

“We want fire service as well,” as it’s important for Project Bella’s insurance, he told the board. “There really is not going to be a circumstance under which we will commence operations without some kind of fire service.”

The only other public hearing speakers were three representatives of trade unions urging the board to vote yes. After the hundreds of construction jobs are finished, the plant will employ 14 skilled, high-wage, full-time employees, Hayes said.

The board approved a rezoning from General Rural to Industrial on just under 352 acres south of Selma Highway and north of Interstate 8 for Project Bella.

The board also approved a Planned Area Development overlay district on the property for specific development standards. The property designation was changed last year to “General Public Facilities/Services” in the county’s comprehensive plan.

The property currently is agricultural, with undeveloped land to the north and west, and General Rural residences to the northwest. Plans include a 200-foot landscape buffer along the northern boundary and western edge, and a 7-foot-high precast concrete sound wall along Midway Road on the plant’s east side.

Supervisor Rich Vitiello, R-Maricopa, told Hayes he would like to see a nice wall around more of the project rather than just an earthen berm. Hayes replied, “I think that’s something we can certainly accommodate.”

Among other concerns, Vitiello said he wanted to make sure Pinal County residents would receive the electricity. Hayes replied that with Pinal County’s electrical demand, “you can expect that this power will be used locally.”

The project will generate 900 megawatts, many times more than solar could produce on that much land, Hayes said. Pinal County can expect to receive average annual tax revenue of $6.7 million, or $167 million over the life of the project.

“I’m a firm believer that we need the power,” Supervisor Mike Goodman, R-San Tan Valley, said. “We take more than what we are generating in this county.” These projects must not only bring fire safety but roads and aesthetics, he continued.

“You’re looking at creating more of a value to the property owners around you,” Goodman said.

Just over half of the Project Bella site will remain undisturbed, supporting native habitat preservation. Hayes said the project “footprint” will only be 160 acres or so and will be built on the northern part of the property out of a flood plain.

Project Bella will establish a “community working group” to provide project updates. It is committed to funding $4.1 million over a 10-year period for grants administered by an independent community foundation, Hayes said.

“We’ll establish a constant point of contact for residents in the area, so they can always have someone to be in touch with related to this project. We’ll maintain our website, which will be constantly updated with all of our reporting, and maintain that connection to the community,” Hayes said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 last month to recommend approval of both the rezoning and PAD.