Another development project is on the horizon for Hidden Valley and Thunderbird Farms, but this time, opinions are split.  

A small team from White Plains, N.Y.-based Epic Star Energy hosted an informal meet-and-greet Monday night at Raceway Bar and Grill to introduce their proposal and hear from residents ahead of a formal neighborhood meeting next month. 

Epic Star wants to construct a natural gas plant and battery energy storage facility near the northwest corner of Table Top and Fulcar Roads, 6 miles west of the Amarillo Creek neighborhood. The project site would sit just west of the Pinal West Substation.  

Kelly Sarber, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Epic Star Energy, said the location made sense for increasing regional power capacity. 

“Pinal West Substation, which is one of the largest substations in the state of Arizona, is scheduled for a lot of upgrades. So, there’s really good connectivity to put power here so that it can be used throughout the region,” she said.  

Natural gas pipelines, communication lines and transmission lines already run through or near the site. Sarber said pairing batteries with gas generation could help stabilize supply during high-demand hours, especially in summer.  

“They’re meant to be turned on four hours a day,” Sarber said. “Typically, they’re charged during nighttime, when power use is low, and then turn on during peak hours from 4 to 8 p.m. That’s when people are coming home from work and turning on all their stuff.” 

Some residents voiced support. Hidden Valley resident Robin Davis said the proposal made more sense than other recent projects that have targeted rural Maricopa. Compared to a massive data center and solar farm that are each amid the approval process 

Compared with the massive data center and solar farm projects now cruising through the approval process, Davis called this proposal “a far superior location.” 

“This particular site is the best that I see for energy,” she said. “This is a major intersection of lines coming east and west. The substation is there. The location is the best that we’ve seen. They’re not going to use water and they’re not going to use power; they’re storing it to put back into the grid when it runs low.” 

Others were not convinced. Concerns centered on potential heat and noise impacts, water use and recent news about battery storage fires.  

Glennwilde real estate agent Susan Buonsante, who recently bought a ranch home about a mile south of the site, said she is “vehemently opposed” to the project. 

“That area, I feel like it’s saturated with a lot of unpleasant things if you’re someone who lives there,” she said. “I just closed on my house at the end of June and didn’t really consider noise and energy frequencies even as far away as I am from that substation.” 

Sarber said her team will conduct studies to evaluate current noise and light levels to ensure the project remains within Pinal County guidelines.  

Still, Buonsante said she and her neighbors remain skeptical. 

“I think we’re very cautious out here as to what is being developed,” she said. “There’s so much wildlife and so many cool things out there… There’s just certain areas that are heavily targeted for one thing after another and I could see this is going to be one of those areas.” 

The project remains years from possible construction. It still needs rezoning and a minor comprehensive plan amendment, both of which must be approved by the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.  

A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Elements Center, 16000 N. Maricopa Road, Suite 200. Sarber said Epic Star will share more information about zoning, water and fire safety, and noise studies at that time.