Mesa high-voltage line for Facebook going to hearing

Jun. 21—The Arizona Corporation Commission is slated to hold a hearing in Mesa beginning June 27 on Salt River Project's application to build a half-mile high-voltage transmission line to serve the Meta Data Center campus currently under construction at Elliot and Ellsworth Roads.

Arizona law requires power plants of 100 megawatts or more or transmission projects of 115,000 volts or more to be considered by ACC's Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee.

The proposed 230kV spur line in Mesa, supported by poles up to 180 feet tall, would link the Meta data centers with the Southeast Power Link, a 7-mile high-voltage line between Queen Creek and Mesa that's been approved but isn't planned for completion until 2023.

As the primary beneficiary of the spur line, which would run between the 202 corridor and Ellsworth Road, Meta is funding the connection.

SRP's request for the high-voltage line, taller than the 69 kV lines more commonly used to carry power short distances, underscores the large energy demands of data centers in general and the Meta campus in particular, which will eventually include five separate buildings totaling 2.5 million square feet.

Meta said earlier this year that its Mesa data centers will use about 450 MW per year, or enough to power all the homes in a medium-sized city.

Meta has signed long-term purchasing agreements with SRP to buy solar power to met its energy demands. SRP is currently constructing solar power plants in Pinal County to generate the contracted power.

The hearing on the proposed spur, dubbed Project Huckleberry by SRP, convenes at 1 p.m. at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Phoenix Mesa at 200 N. Centennial Way.

The committee will take public comment in a special evening session on Monday, June 27, at 5:30 p.m. in person and virtually.

The hearing will continue June 28 at 9 a.m. and each following weekday through completion of the hearing. The hearing will be available to view online, by phone or in-person. Zoom links for the hearing will be added to the project webpage srp.net/huckleberry.

At the end of the hearing, the siting committee will decide whether to

issue the project a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility. The committee's decision is then subject to final approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission.

SRP Media Relations Representative Erica Roelfs said the company held an open house in May at the Eastmark Visitor and Community Center. This followed two virtual meetings held via Zoom in March.

Roelf said one question asked by residents was why the larger 230kV lines were needed for this project rather than shorter, lower-voltage lines.

According to SRP, the double-circuit 230 kV line to Meta would stand up to 180 feet tall, compared with 75 feet for 69 kV lines.

Roelf said the "sheer amount of power required for the project" necessitated higher voltage lines, and engineers also told attendees that the larger lines are "innately more reliable," since they are higher off the ground, further from the street, and less likely to be damaged.

Data centers use electricity both to power their servers and also to cool them, since their operations generate lots of heat.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "data centers are one of the most energy-intensive building types, consuming 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office building."

The agency estimates data centers now account for 2% of U.S. electrical usage.