(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents esVolta Development.)
By Justin Mathews | Pinal Post
The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a 40-acre battery energy storage facility near Maricopa on November 20, 2025. The Cactus Wren Energy Storage project would store up to 800 megawatts of electricity for four hours.
To put that capacity in perspective, Electrical District 3 set a system peak demand record of 280 megawatts on August 7, 2025. The proposed battery facility could store nearly three times that peak demand for four hours. ED3 announced the record during extreme heat when temperatures reached 115 degrees.
The commission forwarded the proposal to the Board of Supervisors with conditional approval. Commissioner Karen Mooney cast the sole opposing vote on each of the three related cases.
