New SRP energy project could bring power directly to Maricopa

By Monica D. Spencer, Associate Editor
Apr 3, 2026

GRID GAINS

STANFIELD — Another energy project is headed for western Pinal County and this one is hoping to gain support from locals by distributing some of that power to Maricopa.

Salt River Project’s Marigold Energy Center hosted its second open house at Stanfield Elementary School last week, where it showed off plans and renderings for its proposed solar and natural gas plant, as well as a battery energy storage system.

The solar panels would span a patchwork of land between Porter and Stanfield Roads that stretches from Barnes to Carranza Roads. Gas turbines and a substation are planned to sit on land near Barnes and Stanfield Roads. It would generate 675 MW from natural gas and 600 MW from solar, plus store 400 MW, after construction is completed in 2033.

A map showing the proposed Marigold Energy Center in Stanfield. [Salt River Project]

SRP’s Director of Resource Planning, Acquisition and Development Bill McClellan told InMaricopa while the project is still several years out from completion, the Marigold Energy Center would add more than 1,200 MW of capacity to the region — and Maricopa and surrounding communities would be recipients of some of that energy.

“One of the things that really excites me about this project is that we’re working in partnership with Electrical District No. 3,” he said. “They’re going to work with us and be an off taker of some of the output of the project to help support the people that live in this area.”

That’s a different take from most recent energy projects proposed in the area. Most have only proposed adding more energy to Arizona’s grid, like the proposed Horseshoe Energy Project in Hidden Valley, Energy Generation and Technology Campus just south of Maricopa and Rainbow Valley Energy in Mobile.

McLellan did not specify how much of the energy generated would be directed to ED3 customers. However, it was a prospect that sounded like a major plus for Councilmember Eric Goettl, who attended the meeting.

“Almost all of our power is distributed by ED3 … Having not just an electrical distribution but a generation site closer to the city makes sense,” he said. “We’re continuing to grow as a city and ED3 does not produce its own power.”

In addition to questions about water use, noise levels and costs, Goettl said he hoped future meetings would provide more detail about impacts on energy rates.

A comment board asking residents how SRP can support the community sits inside Stanfield Elementary School on March 25, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]

“A lot of the greener energy sometimes has a higher cost, so I’m concerned that if a bulk of [ED3’s] power is going to be purchased from this new site, how does that impact long-term rates,” he said. “Having more supply in the system usually levels those rates out … so I think in the long term, it will be better for our residents to stabilize the rate more than not.”

McLellan said in the meantime, SRP is looking for feedback from locals.

“There’ll be one more open house where we’ll take input from the community, so if there are any questions we need to answer, or more information we want to provide, we’ll bring that to the next open house,” he said, although he did not have a specific date for the next open house.

Feedback can be provided on the Marigold website, by calling 602-263-2872 or emailing [email protected].

Monica D. Spencer, Associate Editor

Monica is a government and economic development reporter for InMaricopa since February 2023. Previously, she worked for The Arizona Republic’s breaking news desk and visuals department.