A proposal to expand a power plant in southern Arizona is taking a big step forward with an approval just issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
The electric utility company Salt River Project, which is headquartered in Tempe, has long wanted to expand its generating facilities in the city of Coolidge.
SRP has said that the expansion is needed in order to add some 2,000 megawatts of solar energy to its overall renewable portfolio in the next 3 years.
According to the company’s website, the expansion project will also have the effect of optimizing the “overall power transfer capability, reliability, and flexibility of SRP’s transmission system.”
Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission have now voted in favor of the project, approving a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility which effectively puts to rest a challenge from the nearby Randolph community, with a population of around 200 people, which had earlier opposed the company’s plans.
Residents in that community, which has a large minority population, had complained about pollution from the existing SRP plant in Coolidge and scored a major victory last year when the corporation commission denied SRP’s expansion application.
Those homeowners, along with area environmental activists, contended that an expanded SRP facility would only increase pollution in their community.
In the year since that decision, SRP officials have met with Randolph leaders and residents, eventually agreeing to reduce from 16 to 12 the number of proposed generation units, and building them in areas less visible to the community.
The company also agreed to fund a scholarship and job training program for the residents of Randolph, while also supporting an effort to rehabilitate homes there.
Such overtures on the part of SRP, which also included public input meetings with the Randolph community, led to the corporation commission’s approval.
In a statement, Bobby Olsen, associate general manager with SRP, said the company “looked forward to working with the community to follow through on the commitments we’ve made.”
It is thought that once the expansion project is completed, it will provide energy for up to 139,000 homes.
By Garry Boulard
