1-GWh battery now operational in Arizona for solar site powering Google data center

Courtesy of NextEra Energy Resources. Example of an Arizona-based solar plant, Wilmot Solar Energy Center in Tucson, Arizona on May 5, 2021 (Credit: SRP, NextEra)

Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources announced Arizona’s largest operational battery energy storage system is now online. Sonoran Solar Energy Center is a 260-MW solar facility with the ability to charge a 1 gigawatt-hour GWh battery energy storage system, located south of Buckeye, Arizona.

The solar and battery storage system will help match the electricity consumed by Google’s forthcoming data center campus in Mesa, Arizona. Energy not needed by the data center will be used to meet other SRP customer needs.

Also supporting Google is the newly developed Storey Energy Center, an 88-MW solar and battery storage system, located in Coolidge, Arizona. Both facilities are operated by subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources. SRP and NextEra Energy Resources’ under-development wind facility, Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, will also support Google. This is a 161-MW wind project, on Babbitt Ranches property in Coconino County, north of Flagstaff.

GO DEEPER: Check out the Factor This! energy storage podcast playlist, including episodes on battery storage, long-duration energy storage, gravity storage, and more. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Google is pursuing net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030, supported by a goal to run its data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy. The Sonoran, Storey, and Babbitt Ranch projects contribute to these commitments by supporting the energy needs of Google’s future data center in Mesa, which the company announced in 2023 with plans to use air-cooled technology.

“We’re aiming for every Google campus to operate on clean electricity every hour of every day by 2030, including in Arizona where we are excited to put down roots with our first data center in the state currently under construction,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Global Head of Data Center Energy, Google. “The collaboration with Salt River Project and NextEra is accelerating decarbonization in Arizona and our own carbon-free journey in the region.”          

Through its Integrated System Plan, SRP found it will need to at least double the number of power resources on its power system in the next 10 years as it completes the planned retirement of 2,600 MW of coal resources, and amid growing energy demand.

“These renewable energy centers will generate low-cost, homegrown energy and provide millions of dollars in additional revenue to both Maricopa and Pinal counties over the life of the projects,” said Anthony Pedroni, Vice President of Renewables and Storage Development at NextEra Energy Resources. “We are pleased to work with SRP and Google to bring online Arizona’s newest renewable energy centers.”