Image for illustrative purposes

Salt River Project (SRP) has announced a major agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to develop 3,000 megawatts (MW) of solar generation capacity by 2034, marking one of the utility’s largest renewable procurement deals to date.

The agreement is designed to support SRP’s long-term system expansion plans while advancing its decarbonization and reliability goals amid rising electricity demand in Arizona.

Under the terms of the agreement, approximately 500 MW of solar capacity will be constructed annually from 2029 through 2034. The projects are expected to collectively supply enough electricity to power roughly 595,000 Arizona homes at peak output.

SRP stated that the agreement forms part of a broader strategy to more than double its generating capacity by 2035, combining solar with additional resources such as battery energy storage and natural gas generation to ensure grid reliability.

The utility emphasized that the expansion is intended to balance multiple objectives:

• Increasing renewable energy penetration
• Maintaining affordability for customers
• Ensuring system reliability during peak demand periods

SRP has been steadily expanding its clean energy portfolio in recent years, including solar and storage deployments across Arizona.

NextEra Energy Resources, one of the largest renewable energy developers in the United States, will be responsible for developing the new solar assets under the agreement.

The company already operates several existing renewable projects serving SRP customers in Arizona, and the new agreement extends a long-standing relationship between the two organizations.

The agreement reflects broader trends in the U.S. utility sector, where large-scale procurement of solar and storage resources is accelerating due to:

• Rapid growth in electricity demand
• Corporate and utility decarbonization targets
• Declining costs of renewable generation technologies

SRP noted that the new capacity will help meet rising demand across the Phoenix metropolitan region while supporting its Integrated System Plan for 2035.

Source: media.srpnet.com