ELOY, Ariz. — Emergency crews responded to a power inverter fire Thursday afternoon at a major solar facility near the intersection of Estrella and Hanna roads, requiring careful coordination with plant personnel due to electrical hazards.
Multiple units from the Eloy Fire Department responded to the incident at what appears to be the West Line Solar facility, located at 6750 North Tweedy Road. The 100-megawatt solar plant, owned and operated by AES Corporation, commenced operations in early 2023 and serves as a key renewable energy source for the region.
“Due to the power danger, crews had to closely coordinate with personnel from the facility before attempting to control the flames,” the Eloy Fire Department stated in a social media post. “In the meantime, Eloy Firefighters established a hazard zone and restricted access.”
The fire occurred at one of the facility’s power inverters, critical components that convert the direct current electricity generated by solar panels into alternating current for transmission to the electrical grid. No injuries were reported in the incident, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This incident adds to a pattern of equipment fires at solar facilities in the area. During a February 20, 2025 planning and zoning hearing, Coolidge City Council member Tom Bagnall stated, “Nextera operates Pinal central. They had a inverter fire over there. They operate Storey solar. They had a fire underneath the panels out there.” In a May 15, 2025 hearing, Pinal County Commissioner Tom Scott also referenced NextEra’s fire history, noting “if you go over to Storey Solar, which your company owns also, it has weeds in it, and you had a fire last year.”
Initial images from Thursday’s incident show the affected inverter appeared to be in an area clear of vegetation, though a full investigation into the cause is still pending.
The West Line Solar facility represents a significant investment in Arizona’s renewable energy infrastructure. The plant generates approximately 279.5 gigawatt-hours annually and ranks as the 14th largest solar facility among Arizona’s 106 solar power plants, according to gridinfo.com data.
Half of the facility’s energy output is dedicated to Meta’s massive data center project under construction in Mesa, with work projected to finish in 2026 as of 2024 according to AzTechCouncil.com. The remaining 50 megawatts serves residential and small business customers enrolled in Salt River Project’s Solar Choice program, according to SRP. The facility was officially commissioned in February 2023 during a ceremony attended by leaders from Meta, SRP, and AES.
The West Line Solar plant is part of a broader renewable energy expansion in the Coolidge area, where AES has developed three solar projects totaling 300 megawatts to serve SRP customers. The facility has generated an estimated $16.7 million in property tax revenue for Pinal County and created approximately 240 jobs during its construction phase, according to SRP.
This incident highlights the ongoing safety considerations as Arizona continues its rapid expansion of solar infrastructure to meet growing energy demands from data centers and manufacturing facilities moving to the state. The Pinal County area has become a focal point for utility-scale solar development, with multiple facilities operating in the Coolidge-Eloy corridor.
