Salt River Project will host an in-person open house event for the public to learn more about “Project Huckleberry,” the proposed half-mile 230 kV transmission line and substation to serve energy to a data center being built for Meta (formerly Facebook) in Mesa and slated to be fully operational by 2024.

The data center continues the Phoenix area’s growth in the technology sector and is expected to create approximately 100 high-wage jobs upon its completion and around 1,500 jobs during its construction. SRP supports long-term economic development in the communities it serves by providing reliable power to its customers, according to a release.

The open house meeting is 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Eastmark Visitor and Community Center, 10100 E. Ray Road in Mesa.

Meta’s data center is under development at the southeast corner of Elliot and Ellsworth Roads. SRP’s proposed Project Huckleberry outlines a new double-circuit 230 kV power line to be constructed from the already approved Southeast Powerlink along an existing flood control channel to the new proposed “Prickly Pear Substation” on the Mesa data center site. As the primary beneficiary of Project Huckleberry, Meta is funding the cost of SRP’s electrical infrastructure required to serve their facility.
SRP is preparing an application seeking a certificate of environmental compatibility to be filed with the Arizona Corp. Commission. The process includes public hearings with the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee before seeking final approval from the ACC on the proposed project. Hearings before the line siting committee will occur in late June. More information on Project Huckleberry is available at srp.net/huckleberry.

SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and an electricity provider in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving approximately 1.1 million customers. SRP provides water to about half of the Valley’s residents, delivering more than 244 billion gallons of water (750,000 acre-feet) each year and manages a 13,000-square-mile watershed that includes an extensive system of reservoirs, wells, canals and irrigation laterals.