A proposed utility-scale solar and battery-storage project on 534.6 acres immediately south of Maricopa is scheduled for a Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission hearing Thursday, Oct. 15.
The case is PZ-PA-012-26, called the Rosebud Energy Center in the County’s notice. It asks to change the site’s comprehensive-plan designation from Employment to Green Energy Production. The notice describes the intended use as a utility-scale photovoltaic solar-generation facility with a battery energy storage system, commonly shortened to BESS.
This is a proposal and a public hearing. The County notice does not say the project is approved, permitted or under construction.
Where the proposed site is
Pinal County places the property along North White and Parker Road, north of Teel Road, south of the Ak-Chin Indian Community and the City of Maricopa. The legal notice identifies a portion of tax parcel 502-18-006D in unincorporated Pinal County.
That location matters to Maricopa even though the parcel is outside the city limits. White and Parker is a direct north-south connection into the city’s eastern and southeastern growth area, where Maricopa is also marketing industrial land and planning transportation projects.
The applicant listed in the notice is Jordan Rose of Rose Law Group, acting for landowner Nissan North America Inc. The public notice does not state a construction schedule, generating capacity, battery capacity, project cost or opening date. Those details should not be assumed from the acreage or project name.
What the Oct. 15 hearing covers
The Planning and Zoning Commission hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Pinal County Emergency Operations Center, 301 E. 11th St. in Florence.
The action before the commission is a major comprehensive-plan amendment. A comprehensive-plan designation describes the type of land use the County intends for an area. Changing that designation can move a project forward, but it is not the same as final construction approval.
The County’s hearing notice says interested people may attend and speak. It also explains that written statements should identify the case number, the writer and property information, briefly explain the reason for supporting or opposing the request, and say whether the writer plans to attend.
The Pinal County Notice of Hearings page is the best starting point for the current packet and any schedule change. County records warn that planning cases are preliminary and can be changed, continued or withdrawn before a hearing.
Solar and battery storage are separate parts of the plan
The notice lists two technologies. Photovoltaic panels would generate electricity from sunlight. A battery energy storage system would store electricity and release it later. The filing does not establish how large either component would be or how the project would connect to the electric grid.
That distinction matters because a battery facility raises different questions from a solar field. Residents reviewing the packet may want to look for proposed setbacks, emergency-access routes, fire-response planning, landscaping, drainage, glare analysis, transmission connections and the location of battery containers. Those are questions for the record; they are not findings that the project has a problem.
OurMaricopa previously covered the separate Horseshoe Energy filings southwest of Maricopa. That proposal involves gas generation and battery storage on a different site and should not be confused with Rosebud.
What remains unknown
The Oct. 15 notice verifies the acreage, requested land-use change, project type, location, applicant, landowner and hearing. It does not verify:
Final approval by Pinal County.
A construction start or completion date.
Solar megawatts or battery megawatt-hours.
A utility interconnection agreement or power purchaser.
Final site design, tax impact, permanent-job count or water demand.
Those items require later filings or a clear statement from the County, utility or developer. A proposal of this size can change as it moves through planning review.
How to follow the case
Before traveling to Florence, recheck the County’s hearing page for a continuance or updated packet. The notice lists Pinal County Development Services as the contact point and identifies case PZ-PA-012-26.
Maricopa residents comparing this proposal with development inside the city can also use OurMaricopa’s guide to the city’s 2026 commercial-permit pipeline. The categories are different: a permit-stage city project and a proposed county plan amendment are not interchangeable.
Sources
Pinal County Development Services — Notice of Public Hearing, case PZ-PA-012-26. Official hearing notice. Dated Sept. 15, 2026; accessed Oct. 12, 2026.
Pinal County — Notice of Hearings. Official hearing page. Accessed Oct. 12, 2026.