The Salt River Project board of directors voted Monday to continue development in Florence as it expands the utility company’s Copper Crossing Energy and Research Center.

The development will feature generating resources needed for SRP’s transition to a “lower carbon resource portfolio,” according to a release. Advanced solar technology and two flexible natural gas turbines are among the additions coming to the site.

"This project will help SRP meet the Valley’s growing power capacity needs, and specifically, the forecasted critical need for additional generation resources by summer of 2024," Mike Hummel, SRP general manager and CEO, said.

"By bringing online a variety of resources, including additional flexible, quick-start natural gas, we will have more reliable capacity at times of peak demand, the ability to back up our growing portfolio of renewable resources and reliable output during long-duration system events like damaging storms and wildfires."

The first phase of continued development of the Copper Crossing facility will add two flexible natural gas turbines on SRP-owned land next to the existing Abel Substation on West Judd Road and the Copper Crossing Solar Ranch on West Bella Vista Road in Florence, the release stated.

A series of 69 kV poles, lines and infrastructure will connect the new facilities to the existing Abel Substation. Site preparation for the project may begin as early as October, SRP officials said.

On Aug. 23, the SRP board’s Power Committee unanimously voted to recommend the approval of the first phase of the project to the full SRP board.

SRP officials said in the release that the utility re-notified landowners and residents near the Copper Crossing facility about the proposed project and invited them to provide comment at the SRP committee and board meetings.

According to SRP, the Copper Crossing turbines will not run for many hours during a year, will not use much fuel and will be cost efficient.

The proposed second phase of continued development at Copper Crossing is to add advanced solar generation to the site, which will is scheduled to come up for a board vote later this year.

The third phase is to develop small-scale, long-duration energy storage, which will go to the board for a vote in early 2023.

Additional development phases of the site may be proposed later, according to utility officials.

"SRP has projects underway that will take us to more than 2,025 MW of added solar by 2025 and among the largest early investments in battery systems of any Western U.S.-based utility with more than 500 MW contracted to be operational by 2023," Hummel said.

"We will also be announcing more renewable and battery storage projects in the next several months resulting from our All-Source RFP process. All of these resources – including the continued development of Copper Crossing – are required to meet our near-term capacity needs and our board-established carbon reduction goals."

For more: project website