(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents esVolta Development.)
By Mark Crowling | Pinal Post
FLORENCE — Up to 800 megawatts of battery energy storage, directly west of the Nissan test track south of the city of Maricopa, was approved Dec. 10 by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.
This could be the first time the board has seen a request for a battery energy storage system (BESS) by itself, attorney Court Rich told the board. It’s not a component of a gas-fired power plant or a solar farm, “it’s just batteries,” he said.
Es Volta’s Cactus Wren BESS will be on 40 acres south of the southwest corner of Teel and North White and Parker roads, surrounded by a seven-foot block wall. Es Volta is experienced and working on several projects in Arizona including one in Florence, Rich said.
The location is near key transmission lines and four substations. “This is essentially sort of main street and main street intersection for energy in western-central Pinal County,” Rich said. A BESS is able to store energy when prices are low and deploy it at peak demand times when prices are high, “saving everybody money,” Rich said.
