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SRP's new solar and storage project will power more than 65,000 homes in Pinal County

SRP electricity meter
KJZZ
An SRP customer's electricity meter.

SRP’s new Eleven Mile Solar System is expected to power more than 65,000 homes and bring $80 million in tax revenue to communities inside Pinal County.

The system was built by Ørsted, a Danish energy company, who started construction on the addition in 2023. It now spreads across 2,000 acres and provides power through solar and battery storage energy systems.

“We’re going to need to probably double the capacity of our portfolio just in the next 10 years alone. We’re going to need to do a combination of resources we own and operate and then resources we contract with developers," said Grant Smedley with SRP.

He said it’s one of six installations the project has brought online over the summer to meet energy demand.

“Just this summer alone, we’ve commissioned over 1,000 megawatts of new capacity, and that’s more than the entire last decade. We’re adding a lot of new generation to our portfolio," Smedley said.

Smedley also said the system is projected to generate $80 million for local communities and public services through tax revenue. He said that local school districts, police departments and medical services in Pinal County would be some of the groups who’d benefit from that revenue.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline has been updated to correct what kind of power the Eleven Mile Solar System provides.

Nick Karmia is a reporter at KJZZ.