Highlights

Apex Clean Energy, a Charlottesville, Virginia-based renewable developer, has applied for a 30-year commercial lease on 3,897 acres of Arizona state land near Buckeye where it wants to build a 350-megawatt utility-scale solar plant with battery energy storage systems, according to documents filed with the Arizona State Land Department.

The ASLD has scheduled the site for auction on Aug. 18, with a $43,112,000 starting bid. Getting the project operational will require upgrading existing roads, building new ones, installing solar panels and electrical equipment, constructing a new substation, and deploying battery energy storage systems. Apex's ASLD filing puts the total estimated cost at $740 million.

The project, called Grande Verde Solar, received approvals for a major comprehensive plan amendment and zone change from Maricopa County in December 2024. Apex still needs a plan of development from Maricopa County and a site-plan approval from the city of Buckeye, according to an Apex spokesperson quoted by the Phoenix Business Journal, which first reported the story. The firm is targeting a 2028 operational date.

Apex selected the site for its flat, contiguous acreage, existing electrical infrastructure, proximity to a major load center, and what it described as a supportive community.

Ares Management Corporation funds acquired a majority ownership stake in Apex in 2021, a structure the company says will allow it to self-fund the sponsor equity required to develop Grande Verde and similar projects. Apex may also bring on additional equity partners, per its ASLD application.

Who else is building solar in the West Valley?

Grande Verde is one of several large-scale solar projects working through approvals in the region. Arlington, Virginia-based AES is planning a 550-megawatt solar plant with battery storage on roughly 5,000 acres in Goodyear's Rainbow Valley area; that Desert Rainbow Solar Project still needs a special use permit, planning and zoning approval, and Goodyear City Council sign-off. Four additional solar projects in Pinal County are also moving through city and county approvals.

Apex's Aug. 18 ASLD auction is the next public milestone for Grande Verde Solar.

Sources

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  1. aztechcouncil.org retrieved 29/07/2026 20:30

Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 29/07/2026 20:30. Every claim traces to a source.