Salt River Project has announced it will be building a new battery-storage site in eastern Arizona.
The utility says it will have new tech capable of lasting for twice as long as traditional utility batteries.
That’s because the new batteries will use carbon dioxide. The CO2 is stored as a liquid, then when energy is needed, it is heated into a gas which drives turbines.
SRP says those batteries will be able to power more than 4,200 homes for over 10 hours. Traditional lithium-ion batteries tend to cap out at 4 hours.
That time constraint is often cited as one of the major limitations for renewable energy sources like solar, which can’t provide energy overnight.
Tessa Murdock with SRP says the project comes through a partnership with Google.
“Google will kind of cost-share with us a portion of the pilot cost and then in return they will receive the operational performance data and also input on some of the research," Murdock said.
The plant is expected to be operational in 2029.
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The Arizona Corporation Commission is facing a complaint accusing it of violating the state’s open meeting law after it voted to redact video of a public meeting where commissioners talked about a staffer who was recently fired. -
Data analyst Abhay Padgoankar says a group of around 100 data centers and other large industrial users have nearly all of the increased demand on APS's system in recent years. To keep up with demand, he says, the utility is buying more power from outside suppliers and charging that across the entire rate base. -
The Mesa City Council approved landing fees at Falcon Field airport in March to help keep the airport self-sustaining. In April, the Federal Aviation Administration initiated a review over concerns the fees target specific airport users. -
New federal data shows a wide gap in the amount of carbon pollution produced by electricity generation across the West, reflecting stark differences in how states produce their power. -
Learn more about the candidates for the 2026 race for Arizona Corporation Commission.
