(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Mission Clean Energy.)
By Justin Mathews | Pinal Post
Casa Grande’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a Conditional Use Permit for a battery energy storage system (BESS) on April 2, 2026. The project, known as the Samba Energy Center, is being developed by Mission Clean Energy, a utility-scale renewable energy and storage developer based in San Francisco. It will occupy approximately 36 acres in the General Industrial zone northeast of the Gila Bend Highway and Bianco Road intersection.
Project Description and Capacity
Applicant representative Jon Gillespie of the Rose Law Group told the commission: “The BESS concept is to provide grid stability. It stores energy during the day and is able to deploy that at night to stabilize the grid and support APS operations.”
The project will have a total electrical output of up to 650 megawatts alternating current (AC) at the point of interconnection. It is designed to deliver that output for up to four hours. It will connect to a proposed Arizona Public Service (APS) 230 kV substation immediately north of the site via proposed transmission infrastructure and utility easements. Gillespie noted that the adjacent location means “no new transmission lines to connect that power directly into it, spanning across other properties,” though the project narrative describes proposed transmission infrastructure and easements connecting the two facilities.
