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Environment

Sierra Club

02/04/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Ignoring Community Concerns, Arizona Corporation Commission Approves New Baccara Gas Plant in Residential Area

Phoenix, Ariz. - Today the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) approved a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) for the gas-fired Baccara power plant, which would supply power to a new data center. The project would build 18 new gas-fired turbines-essentially large jet engines-and eighteen 72-foot high exhaust stacks adjacent to existing residential neighborhoods in Glendale, Surprise, and El Mirage, with 620 homes within 1 mile of the site.

In approving the project, the Commission ignored community concerns: many nearby residents spoke out against the project's impact on their neighborhoods, and an online petition opposing the plant has over 5,700 signatures. The approved CEC did not include meaningful mitigation measures to reduce the project's impacts on neighbors, including from air pollution and noise impacts.

The project would further degrade air quality in a county that already experiences some of the worst air in the area, getting an F from the American Lung Association for ozone and particulates. Air pollution from the project would hurt people's health, contributing to respiratory diseases and causing up to $16.5 million per year in increased healthcare costs for Arizona residents.

The project still needs an air permit from Maricopa County and is looking to be annexed by Glendale.

In response, Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Director, Sandy Bahr, released the following statement:

"The ACC's decision is a continuation of its developing legacy to ignore impacts to communities and to serve the interests of those promoting polluting gas plants and big energy users like data centers. The Commission's approval of an inadequate CEC also goes to show that it simply isn't interested in project impacts to community members and does not value protecting the air, water, and the neighbors as a CEC is supposed to do. The ACC's developing reputation is worsening with every irresponsible decision it makes."

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.