Pinal County is reviewing the Rosebud Energy Project, a utility-scale solar facility and battery energy storage system, or BESS, south of Maricopa. The site covers about 512 acres of farmland owned by Nissan North America Inc. It lies along North White and Parker Road near Teel Road, south of the Ak-Chin Indian Community. County staff briefed the Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 20 and the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 2. At the commission meeting, staff said they expect the electricity to go into the power grid rather than to Nissan. Staff also did not tie the power to the planned data center and energy campus west of the site. That campus received a major land use change on Nov. 19, 2025, which allowed it to begin seeking rezoning.
Neither body took a vote, because both meetings were work sessions. Next, the project heads to a hearing in October. Meanwhile, the applicant has not said when the facility would begin operating.
What the Rosebud Energy Project Would Build
Planner Sam Amaya presented the preliminary site plan at both meetings. Solar arrays would cover most of the property, with a substation in the center. In addition, the plan includes Tesla Megapack 2XL battery units, medium-voltage transformers and the BESS. It also shows retention basins and internal roadways. The staff presentation lists battery storage figures of 30 megawatts and 80 megawatts. However, neither the plan nor staff gave a generating capacity for the solar arrays.
Jordan Rose of Rose Law Group represents Nissan as the applicant and agent.
Staff Expect Power to Go to the Grid, Not to Nissan
Commission Chairman Robert Klob asked whether the energy would tie back to Nissan for its own use. In response, Planning Manager Harvey Krauss addressed the question.
“I think it just goes into the grid,” Krauss said. Nissan, he explained, wants to take the farmed property out of production to save water and use it for energy instead. The project, however, is not meant to power Nissan’s own operations. Several substations and transmission lines already exist in the area, he added.
Klob said he had wondered whether Nissan wanted the power to run a large number of electric vehicles. However, Krauss replied that he did not think that was the case.
Site Sits Beside the Nissan Test Track and a Data Center and Energy Campus
The Rosebud Energy Center sits in unincorporated Pinal County, on Nissan Technical Center North America land. Currently, the land is zoned CI-1 Light Industry and Warehouse.
Vice Chair Karen Mooney asked about a road bordering the southeast edge of the site. Amaya identified it as the Nissan test track. “I was concerned with how close it was to the road, but it’s not public,” Mooney said. She also noted that she saw no floodplain in the area, and Amaya confirmed the site is not in one.
Additionally, Amaya said the site is near the Energy Generation and Technology Campus. That 495-acre project includes data centers, a natural gas power plant and battery storage. The Ak-Chin Indian Community opposed the campus location at the time, citing cultural sites and human remains in the area.
Staff Report No Comments From Ak-Chin or the City of Maricopa
On Sept. 2, Supervisor Rich Vitiello asked whether the Ak-Chin Indian Community or the City of Maricopa had commented on the plan. Amaya said he had not received anything from either agency.
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Details
The request is a Major Comprehensive Plan Amendment to the 2019 Pinal County Comprehensive Plan. It would change the land use designation from Employment to Green Energy Production.
October Hearing Comes Before a Year-End Land Use Decision
Commissioner Bryan Hartman asked whether the developer knows when it wants to be in operation. “They are aware of the land use being approved or not approved by the end of this year, which then puts them to the zoning next year,” Planning Supervisor Sangeeta Deokar responded. At that point, she added, the developer would start defining more details and coming up with timelines.
Deokar also said the county’s list of energy projects “is slowly growing,” and staff would add current cases such as the Rosebud Energy Project to it.
PZ-PA-012-26
