• Board of Supervisors still to make final consideration
• Maricopa County has at least 27 planned data center projects

The Maricopa County Planning Commission of Arizona Aug. 6 advanced another data center project, recommending approval for land use items for more than 590 acres for data center and warehouse use.

Commissioners approved an uncontested comprehensive plan amendment from the Balterra Development Master Plan (DMP) to Mixed Use within the Tonopah/Arlington Area Plan and a zone change for 593 acres from Rural-43 to General Industrial with an Industrial Unit Plan Development overlay.

According to county filings, the developer envisions “a mix of warehouse and data center uses,” and the applicant expects “to work with APS (Arizona Public Service) on a Feasibility Study to evaluate options for the Site and are currently working other options for power service, such as natural gas and other behind-the-meter solutions.”

APS currently has lower-voltage service near the site, with higher-voltage service potentially requiring additional time to extend.

Infrastructure would need to be developed as part of any future project, as there is currently no water infrastructure on the site or nearby sewer mains.

No end user has been identified, and more detailed plans have not been submitted.

County records show Balterra 590 Acres LLC – established in September 2025 – purchased the vacant land from Arizona Land Consulting also in September 2025 for USD 13.2m.

East of the proposed project is a planned hyperscale project to be developed by Arizona Land Consulting. The developer’s Hassayampa Ranch data center project anticipates a USD 25bn investment for a 1.5 GW, 1,687-acre campus.

Scottsdale-based law firm Berry Riddell is listed as the applicant/representative on the Balterra applications and on Arizona Land Consulting’s Hassayampa Ranch filings.

Project representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

The potential 593-acre development joins at least 60 other data center projects NPM is tracking across the county, including 27 planned projects.

Some of the planned hyperscale projects include:

• Tract‘s more than 2,000-acre, 1.8 GW Buckeye Data Center
• Takanock and Montera Infrastructure’s Project Baccara, a 700 MW gas-fired peaking plant co-located with a data center campus
• Copia Power’s more than 2 GW of data centers within 28,000 acres

Copia’s broader Maricopa County footprint also includes the Maricopa Energy Center (MEC), a 550 MW solar and 2,200 MWh battery storage facility, as well as the nearby Harquahala Sun solar and battery storage facilities, which include existing phases totaling 450 MW of solar paired with 1,200 MWh of battery storage, with additional expansions planned.

NPM reported last month that Carlyle Group agreed to sell Copia Power (Carlyle’s powered land platform) to EQT for around USD 2.4bn, with BNP Paribas, BMO, Royal Bank of Canada and Nomura backing the acquisition with a USD 900m bridge loan.

NPM interconnection queue data is tracking nearly 52 GW of pre-operational power projects in Maricopa County, including 110 APS projects totaling nearly 40 GW, with more than 11 GW of natural gas projects.