By Mark Cowling | Pinal Central
FLORENCE — Approximately 5,675 acres of new solar farms around Pinal County are among the major comprehensive plan amendments Pinal officials will consider this fall.
Supervisor Jeff Serdy, R-Apache Junction, asked if Maricopa and Pima counties were also receiving solar applications, “or are they only bombarding Pinal County with it?”
Pinal Community Development Director Brent Billingsley said one source says between 2016 and 2023 there were 62 new solar projects in Arizona, including 19 in Pinal County. “I think a lot of areas in the state are seeing pressure,” he said.
The five solar projects are among eight total requests for major amendments, which is double the county’s old record, Billingsley said. “I think it’s showing we have developable land, we have relatively inexpensive land, and we have a lot of infrastructure that goes through this county that aids in that type of development — a lot of transmission lines, gas lines, large substations.
