Arizona generates electricity from nuclear reactors, natural gas turbines, coal, hydroelectric dams and a fast-growing fleet of solar farms. This page covers the plants and generating sites in our directory, from large utility stations around Phoenix to small solar arrays at schools in Tucson. The state's grid crosses desert, mountains and tribal land, so the owner of a plant and the agency that oversees it change from one county to the next. The sections below explain how that works and how to reach the right office.

Who Oversees Power Plants in Arizona: Corporation Commission, ADEQ and Federal Agencies

Three layers of government shape what a power plant in Arizona can build and how it operates. The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) regulates investor-owned utilities such as Arizona Public Service (APS), Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and UNS Electric. Its five elected commissioners set retail rates and decide which major projects go ahead.

Siting follows a separate path. Under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 40, a new power plant of 100 megawatts or more needs a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility. The Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee hears the case in public first. The full Corporation Commission then makes the final decision. Smaller plants, including most campus and rooftop solar, do not need that certificate. They go through local zoning, building permits and the utility's interconnection process instead.

Air quality is the second layer. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issues air permits across most of the state. Three counties run their own programs: the Maricopa County Air Quality Department, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality and the Pinal County Air Quality Control District. A plant in Casa Grande answers to the Pinal agency, while one in Tempe answers to the Maricopa agency. Plants on tribal land fall under tribal and federal rules instead.

Federal agencies cover the rest. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees wholesale power markets and hydropower licensing. The Bureau of Reclamation operates Glen Canyon Dam at Page, and the Western Area Power Administration markets much of the federal hydropower. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission supervises nuclear stations. Salt River Project (SRP) is a political subdivision governed by its own board, so it sets its own rates outside the ACC's rate cases.

Metro Phoenix, Tucson and Rural Counties: Where Arizona's Plants Are Concentrated

Maricopa County holds the largest share of the plants in our database. Santan in Gilbert, Kyrene in Tempe and Agua Fria in Glendale serve the Phoenix area's summer peak. Further west, the Gila Bend, Arlington and Tonopah listings sit on open desert where land is cheap and sunshine is strong. They include Cotton Center Solar Power Plant, Arlington Valley Solar Energy I and Badger 1. The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, one of the largest nuclear plants in the country, also stands in this western corridor.

Pima County looks different. Tucson has more listings than any other Arizona city, but most are small. Amphitheater High School Solar on West Yavapai Road is typical, and Avra Valley Solar near Marana is a larger array. TEP serves most of the area under ACC-approved rates, and the county's own air agency handles permits.

Pinal County sits between the two metros. Desert Basin near Casa Grande is one of the larger listings. Bonnybrooke PV in Florence and the Johnson Utilities listing in San Tan Valley sit in an area with fast housing growth, where new homes keep pushing utilities to add capacity.

Rural plants are fewer but often bigger or more remote. Cholla, near Joseph City in Navajo County, is a coal-fired station. Apache Station in Cochise County and Concord Blue Eagar in Apache County serve the southeast and the White Mountains region. Mohave County, home to Kingman 1 in Golden Valley and La Senita in Kingman, also borders Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Prescott Solar Plant on Haas Boulevard serves Yavapai County.

Up north, Glen Canyon Dam at Page, in Coconino County, makes hydropower from the Colorado River. The Navajo Generating Station, a large coal plant near Page, closed in 2019.

Distance matters in practice. Rural plants can sit an hour or more from the nearest town with services. Plan your trip, fill the tank and carry water in summer, when temperatures in Yuma and Gila Bend often pass 110 degrees.

Solar at Schools, Colleges and Hospitals Across Arizona

A large share of the small listings are on-site systems at public institutions. Examples include Carl T Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center Solar on East Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona Western College PV on South Avenue 8 East in Yuma and the Palo Verde School Power Plant on South Palo Verde Road in Buckeye. These arrays mainly offset the host building's electric bill. Any extra output flows to the local utility grid.

You can visit the school, college or hospital for its normal purpose, but the panels sit on roofs, carports or fenced ground and are not open to visitors. For details such as system size or installation year, contact the facilities office or district business office. School boards often discuss solar contracts in public meetings, so board minutes are a good source.

Rooftop customers of ACC-regulated utilities are paid an export rate for surplus power. The ACC approves that rate for each utility, so terms differ between APS, TEP and UNS Electric.

Finding the Right Contact for a Power Plant in Arizona

Start with the listing's city and county, then work out who actually owns the site. These steps save time:

Phone numbers in our directory are not uniform. Santan, Kyrene, Agua Fria and Desert Basin all show 602-236-8833, which suggests a shared utility line rather than a site office. Arlington Valley Solar Energy I lists 480-247-8597, Apache Station lists 520-586-3631 and Cholla lists 602-371-6767. Many listings have no number at all, so confirm details with the owner before you travel.

Most plants are fenced, staffed and closed to the public for safety and security reasons. Glen Canyon Dam at Page is the best-known exception, with visitor facilities and tours when open. Check current status before driving there, since schedules change.

Power plant facilities in Arizona include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Arizona's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 55 cities across Arizona. They are spread across 13 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Tucson, Phoenix, Gila Bend, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Arizona who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Arizona who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Arizona, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Arizona to find the nearest location.

Planning Around Arizona's Summer Demand and Monsoon Season

Arizona's power system is built around summer. Air conditioning pushes demand to its highest in the late afternoon and early evening from June through September. Solar output peaks hours earlier, which is why utilities pair solar with gas turbines and batteries. The Solana Generating Station near Gila Bend goes further by storing heat in molten salt so it can keep producing after sunset.

The monsoon runs officially from June 15 to September 30. Dust storms and lightning can trip lines and cause outages, particularly across Pinal County and western Maricopa County. Planned maintenance outages at large plants are often scheduled in spring and fall, when demand is lower.

When researching a specific site, start with the county page, then the city, then the listing. Check the street address against the county assessor map. Names such as Kyrene, Santan and Palo Verde also match streets, schools and neighborhoods, so two similar results may be unrelated. Our directory has listings in thirteen of Arizona's fifteen counties, so some areas will show few entries.

Useful public records include ACC dockets, ADEQ's permit files, county air agency records and the long-range resource plans that utilities file with the ACC. Together they explain planned retirements and new builds in plain terms.

Arizona Power Plant FAQs

Large projects go through the Arizona Corporation Commission. A plant of 100 megawatts or more needs a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 40. The applicant first appears before the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which holds public hearings, often in the county where the plant would be built. The committee recommends approval with conditions, or denial. The full Commission then votes. Smaller plants skip this process and go through county or city zoning, building permits and utility interconnection. Air permits come from ADEQ or the local county air agency.

Usually not. Most stations near Phoenix, Tucson and Casa Grande are fenced, security controlled and closed to walk-in visitors, including gas plants such as Santan and Desert Basin. Nuclear and coal stations are stricter still. Glen Canyon Dam at Page is the best-known public destination, with a visitor center and guided tours when operating. Solar sites at schools and hospitals can be seen from public roads, though entry follows each campus's visitor rules. For a class or group tour, contact the owner's community relations office well ahead and expect to show identification.

Each of those counties runs its own air program. The Maricopa County Air Quality Department covers plants in Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Mesa, Buckeye and Gila Bend. The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality covers Tucson and Marana. The Pinal County Air Quality Control District covers Casa Grande, Florence and San Tan Valley. ADEQ handles most plants in other counties, such as Mohave and Yavapai. Permits and compliance reports are public records, so you can request the file for a specific plant from the responsible agency.

Our listings include any site recorded as generating electricity, and that covers solar systems at schools, colleges and medical centers. Examples are Amphitheater High School Solar in Tucson, Arizona Western College PV in Yuma and Carl T Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center Solar in Phoenix. They are far smaller than a utility station and usually power only their own buildings. For questions about them, use the school district office, college facilities department or hospital administration rather than a utility plant number.

Arizona's fleet is changing. The Navajo Generating Station near Page closed in 2019, and coal units at stations such as Cholla in Navajo County have faced retirement under utility plans. Some sites keep their names after a sale or shutdown. If a phone number no longer works, check the ACC docket, the owner's website or county records to confirm the status. Our data can lag behind these changes, so verify a plant's current operation before you plan a visit or file a request.

Call the utility that bills your address, not the plant. In the Phoenix area that is usually APS or SRP, and in Tucson it is typically TEP. Rural customers may be served by a cooperative or UNS Electric. Utilities post outage maps and phone lines on their websites. If a downed line or fire creates danger, call 911 first and stay well away from the line. For an ongoing billing or service dispute with an ACC-regulated utility, you can file a complaint with the Commission's Utilities Division after trying the utility. SRP has its own customer process.