The 100-person village of Mobile is poised to become further swallowed into the City of Goodyear and create a new land border between the Phoenix suburb and Maricopa’s Hidden Valley — if things go right for one developer.

The move could see more funding for public safety, water supply, schools and roads in the rural community on State Route 238 as Mobile, once a far-flung blip for drivers bound to San Diego, tightens its tie to the Phoenix metro.

Goodyear City Council discussed earlier this month annexing some 828 acres of land 12 miles west of Maricopa city limits to eventually construct Rainbow Valley Energy Center, a solar power facility and battery storage system.

This annexation would add to the city’s expansive municipal limits, which already envelope parts of Mobile. The annexed land would hug the Maricopa-Pinal County line, with the northernmost boundary near 79th Avenue and Kinney Road, less than 1 mile south of State Route 238, and stretching more than 4 miles south to Fulcar Road in Hidden Valley.

The expansion is adjacent to the proposed Interstate 11 corridor. The city is also developing the Sonoran Valley Parkway, a 15-mile road connecting Mobile, and by extension Maricopa, to the West Valley.

When accessed by Smith-Enke Road, it would be the first artery between Maricopa and the urban core outside the East Valley.

Big investment in tiny Mobile

Rainbow Valley Energy Center would span more than 2,000 acres for solar power generation and battery storage to produce up to 300 megawatts of power, enough to power 300,000 homes.

French developer EDF Renewables, which has American headquarters in San Diego and bills itself as one of the largest renewable energy providers in North America, is behind the project and claims it could bring more than $58 million in economic benefits over 35 years to Goodyear and Mobile.

This includes about $3.2 million in taxes generated from materials and construction, plus another $6 million in municipal property tax revenue. EDF Renewables said “a substantial portion” of all revenue would be allocated to school districts, totaling $27.5 million.

Goodyear City Councilmember Brannon Hampton cited a 2012 fire at an Arizona Public Service energy storage facility in Flagstaff in probing the developer’s contributions to public safety, especially in the case of a battery storage fire.

“I just want to make sure that … we can even maintain the worst-case scenario up there,” he said.

Jordan Rose of Scottsdale-based Rose Law Group, which represented the developer at the meeting, said those plans were still in the works. She said EDF Renewables hopes to provide funding to “make it even more effective,” pending discussions with local fire chiefs.

‘Yes’ to annexation

After a 45-minute discussion, Goodyear City Council voted 6-1 to move forward with the annexation request.

The only dissent came from Councilmember Wally Campbell, who said the city was still “being burned so badly” from when it annexed about 67 square miles of land in 2007. At the time, a Scottsdale developer reneged on its promise for a master-planned community called Amaranth.

“We’re still paying for it and we’re getting nothing from Mobile,” she said. “We’re spending millions of dollars every year for just police and fire.”

City staff estimated the permitting and construction process could take five years to complete after approval, meaning economic benefits are still years away for locals.

The next step is a public hearing on the annexation, after which the city council will vote. A date for the hearing has not been set.