en.Wedoany.com Reported - Salt River Project (SRP), a non-profit public power utility serving over 2 million residents in central Arizona, has signed a 600-megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement (PPA) with Pattern Energy, a developer of clean energy and transmission infrastructure, for the SunZia project. The agreement aims to help SRP meet the growing electricity demand in the Phoenix metropolitan area while balancing affordability, reliability, and sustainability for its customers.
Under the agreement, SRP will begin receiving 400 MW of power this fall, increasing to 600 MW by the summer of 2027.
Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy, stated that this PPA reflects SRP's strategic vision and the collaborative relationship between the two parties, demonstrating how a diversified and cost-effective energy portfolio can address Arizona's current electricity needs while building a reliable and resilient grid for the future.
The SunZia project is expected to generate enough electricity annually to power approximately 1 million U.S. homes, representing an $11 billion energy investment in the Southwest. The project leverages 3,650 MW of wind resources and is paired with a 550-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line, enabling efficient long-distance, large-scale power delivery. This clean electricity will add a new source to SRP's existing diversified energy portfolio, which includes hydropower, wind, natural gas, solar, battery storage, and other generation forms.
SRP currently has 288 MW of wind power serving its customers. The power supplied by the SunZia project supports SRP's expansion plan to more than double its power system capacity by 2035 through the addition of thousands of megawatts of renewable energy, as well as natural gas and battery storage resources.
Bobby Olsen, SRP's Associate General Manager and Chief Power System Executive, noted that this agreement with Pattern Energy plays a key role in SRP's "all-of-the-above" strategy to meet the growing energy demands of the Phoenix metropolitan area in a reliable, affordable, and sustainable manner. The project will triple the total amount of wind power on SRP's grid, helping the company move toward its carbon reduction goals.
