Global energy giant backs massive solar project in Goodyear

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on May 12, 2026

A global energy giant is behind a massive solar power plant project being planned in Goodyear.

Developers are asking for approvals to set up a 5,011-acre project site in the far southern portion of the city in an area called Rainbow Valley, according to documents filed with Goodyear’s planning department.

It would produce about 550 megawatts of power, while containerized battery energy storage systems (BESS) units would store the same amount.

The developer – ACE DevCo NC, LLC – is a subsidiary of AES Clean Energy, a private clean energy firm, according to a project narrative. AES Clean Energy operates under the umbrella of Arlington, Virginia-based parent company AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), which has power generation and utility operations in more than a dozen countries worldwide.

The property owner is Estrella South LLC, and the development is called the Desert Rainbow Solar Project.

AES picked Rainbow Valley due to its flat landscape, distance from other developments and access to regional transmission lines. The project site is located roughly two miles away from the Estrella master-planned community that is getting built out.

If fully built out, Desert Rainbow would have one of the the biggest footprints for a solar energy project in the state.

Several large-scale energy projects are in development around the Valley that cover about 2,000 acres. And earlier this year, a Scottsdale land investor began assembling huge chunks of land near Eloy in Pinal County totaling some 4,000 acres. For that project, EDF Renewables plans to develop a utility-scale 250-megawatt solar generation and 250 MW battery storage facility.

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