Salt River Project is betting big on sunshine. On April 30, 2026, the utility announced an agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to develop 3,000 megawatts of utility-scale solar in Arizona by the end of 2034. SRP estimates that is enough capacity to power about 595,000 homes and says the rollout is designed to keep pace with rising demand across the Valley. The utility is pitching the deal as part of a larger push to expand generation while keeping reliability and affordability front and center.
Deal details and timeline
Under the solar development agreement, NextEra is slated to deliver 500 megawatts of solar a year from 2029 through 2034, for a total of 3,000 megawatts, according to SRP. In its announcement, SRP said the projects are expected to "deliver low‑cost energy for SRP customers" and noted that NextEra was selected through an SRP Request for Proposals issued in 2024. The utility emphasized that the agreement is meant to complement, not replace, SRP’s existing procurement and self‑build processes.
Why SRP says it needs so much new solar
SRP has been pointing to fast population growth, a surge in data centers and the planned retirements of older fossil‑fuel units as reasons peak demand is climbing. Those needs are built into SRP’s Integrated System Plan and related announcements that chart a path to more than doubling resource capacity by 2035, as outlined by PR Newswire. Planners say large‑scale solar paired with battery storage lets utilities bank plentiful midday generation and move it into the evening hours, when the Valley’s demand tends to spike.
Who’s building it and what they say
NextEra Energy Resources, which SRP says has already developed more than 1,000 megawatts across five projects serving SRP customers, will lead development under the new agreement, according to the American Public Power Association. Brian Bolster, NextEra’s president and CEO, said the company is "excited to continue building on our long‑standing relationship with SRP" and to invest in Arizona's growth with low‑cost solar power. SRP officials say the early collaboration is intended to help reduce project risk and secure benefits for nearby communities.
Local impacts: jobs, grid capacity and land use
Developers and SRP say the multi‑year buildout will bring construction jobs along with local tax and lease revenues in the areas that host the projects, with much of the work expected in Pinal County and other rural sites. Recent solar‑plus‑storage deals have been pitched as tools to shift daytime solar production into the evening and to support a growing data‑center footprint in the Valley. As a March look at the nearby SunDog Energy Center noted, similar projects are being advanced with that exact goal in mind and are projected to generate hundreds of temporary construction jobs.
What to watch next
The agreement still has to clear permits, interconnection approvals and financing before any sites get built, and those steps, along with SRP’s rate filings and board approvals, will ultimately shape the timeline and customer impacts, according to SRP. The utility also notes that it serves roughly 1.1 million customers across the Valley, a reminder that any large buildout is subject to community‑based governance and oversight. For now, SRP is casting the deal as a major move in a years‑long transition toward a more solar‑heavy, storage‑backed grid.
