The Goodyear City Council approved a special-use permit for a roughly 5,050-acre solar and battery-storage project in the city’s far south, clearing a major local land-use hurdle for one of the largest renewable-energy proposals in the West Valley.
The council voted 6-1 on Aug. 31 to approve Resolution No. 2026-2537 for the Desert Rainbow Solar Project. Councilmember Benita Beckles cast the dissenting vote, according to the official city meeting record. The approval was first reported Sept. 10 by the West Valley View, whose report was republished by Solar Now.
The approval allows a utility-scale energy generation facility with battery energy storage on privately owned, undeveloped land south of Queen Creek Road and east of Waterman Wash in Rainbow Valley. It does not mean construction has started. Developer AES still lists Desert Rainbow as “in development,” with permitting expected to continue through 2029.
What AES plans to build
AES describes the project as approximately 550 megawatts of solar generation paired with approximately 550 megawatts of battery storage. The batteries would store power produced by the panels and release it to the electric grid when demand is higher.
The proposal includes rows of photovoltaic panels mounted on tracking systems, battery containers, electrical collection equipment, a collector substation, access roads and at least one operations and maintenance building. AES says the facility could generate about 1.37 million megawatt-hours of carbon-free electricity annually, an amount the company compares with the yearly electricity use of 165,000 homes.
Those figures are developer estimates, not measurements from an operating plant.
AES projects development and permitting from 2023 through 2029, construction from 2029 through 2032 and operations beginning in 2032. The company says it expects more than 360 jobs at peak construction and about 20 long-term operations and maintenance positions.
Land, taxes and the project’s operating life
The special-use permit has a 45-year term. City planning materials describe an anticipated operating life of about 40 years, after which the facility would need to be decommissioned or the permit extended. AES says its decommissioning plan would remove the equipment and restore the land to generally the same condition that existed before development.
An applicant-funded fiscal analysis presented during the city review estimated about $42.9 million in direct Goodyear tax revenue from the solar portion over 30 years and another $15.5 million from battery storage over 15 years. AES separately estimates more than $200 million in tax revenue over the project’s life when Goodyear, Maricopa County, the state and local school districts are combined.
Both estimates are projections and depend on the project being built and operating as planned.
AES says its design would preserve Waterman Wash and special flood-hazard areas for wildlife habitat and potential trail development. The company also says it will complete cultural, historical, geotechnical, habitat, floodplain and hydrological studies as permitting continues.
What comes next
The City Council vote settles the project’s Goodyear special-use request, but several important steps remain. AES must continue development and permitting, complete required technical and environmental work, finalize its site design and secure the commercial arrangements needed to deliver power.
The company has submitted Desert Rainbow into a Salt River Project request-for-proposals process, according to the council presentation reported by the West Valley View. Arizona Public Service also submitted a letter supporting the project. Neither step, by itself, is a public confirmation that a utility has agreed to buy the project’s electricity.
The project arrives as Arizona utilities plan for rising electricity demand tied to population growth, advanced manufacturing and data centers. That broader debate has become especially relevant in the West Valley, where state and local officials are weighing new generation and transmission needs alongside land-use, water and rate concerns. West Valley Post recently examined the state policy dispute over new data-center development.
For nearby residents, the next meaningful milestones will be the remaining permits, a final site plan, any utility power-purchase decision and confirmation that the projected 2029 construction start remains on schedule.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration. It represents utility-scale solar and battery storage in the Sonoran Desert and does not depict the actual Desert Rainbow site plan or completed project.
