• Maricopa County, AZ officials to hold public hearing Dec. 10
• Campus would rely mostly on Maricopa Energy Center and Harquahala Sun energy
• Copia has two other campuses being considered in Pinal County, AZ and Lyon County, NV

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors of Arizona will consider Dec. 10 two land use requests tied to Copia Power’s proposed 917-acre data center campus, an expansion of the nearby and under-construction Maricopa Energy Center (MEC), a 550 MW solar and 2,200 MWh battery storage facility, supported by 20-year PPAs with Arizona Public Service.

The developer is seeking a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to re-designate 638 acres (with the remaining acreage already correctly classified) as Utilities from its current Rural Development Area (RDA) classification, and a zoning change with overlay from Industrial with Industrial Unit Planned Development overlay and RDA to Industrial with Industrial Unit Planned Development overlay, to enable the development of the proposed Harquahala Energy Generation & Industrial Campus.

According to county filings, the proposed campus would use mostly energy from MEC and the adjacent Harquahala Sun solar and battery storage facilities, which include existing phases totaling 450 MW of solar capacity paired with 1,200 MWh of battery storage, with additional expansions planned.

Both power projects are backed by more than USD 2.9bn in financing from major banks — including BNP Paribas, CIBC, Crédit Agricole, KeyBanc, Natixis and SMBC — as well as tax-equity commitments from Santander and J.P. Morgan and strong equity support from Carlyle. The MEC area is expected to represent more than USD 1.8bn in total investment over its operating life, according to Copia.

The proposed Harquahala Energy Generation & Industrial Campus will use hybrid and potentially closed-loop liquid cooling to minimize water use, with supply from hauled water and, if needed, local groundwater rights.

The Planning Commission recommended the land use requests for approval Nov. 6.

Meanwhile, northwest of Maricopa, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors will consider Nov. 18 another Copia campus, the proposed 495-acre Energy Generation and Technology Campus. The USD 9.5bn project – to include data centers, a natural gas power plant and battery storage – received recommended approval last month for land use requests tied to the project.

Also in December, another Copia Power project will go before the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners in Nevada.

Commissioners will consider land use items – with recommended approval from the Planning Commission – tied to the Monarch Data Center, a USD 11bn, 505-acre campus planned for 14 buildings across two campuses, with onsite power infrastructure including up to 500 MW of natural gas generation, battery storage, and waterless cooling systems. The project’s financing is supported by Carlyle Group, which will provide equity and guarantees, alongside planned construction and term debt.

Copia did not respond to requests for comment.

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