PHOENIX — A group of investors who own approximately 30,000 acres of land in the Harquahala Valley have inked a deal to build a $1.2 billion solar project on the site and are negotiating separate deals to sell the water underneath the project, which lies about 60 miles west of Phoenix.
Salt Lake City-based Copia Power, a developer of renewable energy platforms backed by global investment firm The Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG), plans to invest billions in the region in an effort to develop more than 1,500 megawatts of additional renewable energy projects, said Garret Bean, managing director of strategic development for Copia Power.
Copia's green energy campus is expected to span 14,000 acres, while the landowners have option agreements with other solar developers to build an additional 6,000 acres of solar on site, said Carson Brown, a partner and Harquahala Valley landowner.
