SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ — The Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the Copper Basin battery storage project on June 17 in a unanimous 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Stephen Miller absent. The 250-megawatt, 2,000-megawatt-hour facility is planned for a 25-acre site at the southwest corner of Bella Vista Road and Attaway Road in San Tan Valley, bordering the Town of Florence to the south. It will store electricity from the regional grid and discharge it during peak demand. Commercial operation is targeted for 2031.
The board approved three related cases together: a comprehensive plan amendment, an industrial rezoning, and a Planned Area Development (PAD) overlay carrying 18 stipulations. Earlier reviews are detailed in the Pinal Post’s coverage of the May 21 Planning and Zoning Commission hearing and the June 3 San Tan Valley Town Council recommendation.
Why supervisors backed the Copper Basin battery storage project
Vice-Chairman Jeff Serdy said he would have opposed the project if it were paired with a large solar field but supports it because it draws from the regional grid. “Since they’re taking it right from the grid, I think it’s a good project to make the grid stronger,” he said.
Supervisor Mike Goodman, whose district includes San Tan Valley, called power “a big deal” and said peak-demand storage matters for communities like his.
Why Pinal County, not San Tan Valley, held the vote
San Tan Valley incorporated last year. However, the new town does not gain operational independence until July 1, 2026. As a result, the Copper Basin cases stayed under Pinal County jurisdiction. Goodman addressed the question directly from the dais.
“A lot of people have asked me, why are we doing this as opposed to San Tan Valley?” Goodman said. He pointed to two San Tan Valley residents who already sit on the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission: Vice Chair Karen Mooney and Darren Schnepf, who is also the town’s mayor.
“They’ve been heavily involved from the very beginning,” Goodman said. He then explained the town’s preference to keep the project on schedule. “The reason for this right here is the fact that they didn’t want this to be delayed in any form or fashion. They wanted to continue business as normal, that there was no glitches whatsoever bringing this type of a development into the community.”
A letter of support from the Town of San Tan Valley was entered into the record before the vote.
Vitiello’s questions on fire response, water, and landscaping
Supervisor Rich Vitiello raised several safety questions for the applicant. He first asked how far the nearest fire station sits from the property.
Matthew Look of Plus Power said Rural Metro Station 841 is about five miles west of the site. Additional Rural Metro stations sit to the north and south.
Vitiello then turned to water access for fire response. He asked whether the area had enough water available for fire department use.
Look said the site does not have direct water service. Instead, Plus Power will truck water in to serve the operations and maintenance trailer. “There is water in the vicinity for fire service, but not directly to the site,” he said.
Vitiello also asked about landscaping along the perimeter, observing that the site sits within a solar area. Look said Plus Power would not plant on the interior sides of the wall, which face SRP’s solar arrays, and would coordinate exterior landscaping with San Tan Valley planners.
Scholl on battery safety and the McMicken precedent
Brian Scholl, a recently retired Phoenix Fire Department veteran, addressed safety on behalf of the applicant. He referenced the McMicken battery incident as a turning point for the industry. “McMicken was a very bad day for us, and we’ve come a long way since McMicken,” he said.
Scholl described modern installations as “highly tested and highly regulated.” He then compared a battery incident to a residential structure fire. “As a firefighter in Phoenix, we’re more worried about house fires than we are of anything that comes off these batteries because I know exactly what’s in these batteries, as opposed to a house fire,” he said.
Arizona Technology Council speaks in support at the hearing
The June 17 board public hearing drew one speaker. Cepand Alizadeh, representing the Arizona Technology Council, spoke in support. “Energy equals economic development,” he said. He also called the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission “detail-oriented” and pointed to its unanimous 9-0 recommendation as a meaningful endorsement. “If a project gets a vote of 9 to 0 approval, the applicant and their representative have done their job, and have done their job well,” he said.
Staff reported seven letters of support, three speakers in support at the May 21 Planning and Zoning hearing, and no opposition.
When the Copper Basin Energy Storage facility opens
Plus Power expects commercial operation of the Copper Basin battery storage facility to begin in 2031. Attorney Nick Wood told the board the project is planned for about 25 years.
