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Vermaland La Osa Energy Center

La Osa Energy Center is Vermaland's plan for a data center and natural gas power campus on 3,385 acres south of Eloy in Pinal County. Supervisors denied its rezoning 4-1 on August 26, 2026, and Vermaland plans to resubmit a smaller version.

Status: Original plans denied; may resubmit. On August 26, 2026, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to deny the rezoning and the Planned Area Development overlay the project needed. Vermaland had already cut the plan from up to 59 data center buildings to 11. In an Arizona Globe article published September 10, 2026, founder and CEO Kuldip Verma said Vermaland is still pursuing the project and plans to resubmit it at 200 or 500 MW. Its figures describe what was proposed. They are not counted in the statewide totals.

The short version

Where it stands now

In an Arizona Globe article published September 10, 2026, founder and CEO Kuldip Verma said: "We are pursuing the project." Vermaland plans to downscale it from a 1 GW facility to either 200 or 500 MW and resubmit, with no timeline or final size confirmed yet. "The board gave us a thorough hearing, and we respect that," he said. In July 2026, county planning staff said they were working on a potential ordinance or standards for data centers. The county's August 2026 staff report notes the site's land-use designation was approved under case PZ-PA-011-25 (the Board vote was November 19, 2025). The land is still zoned General Rural.

The land

  • La Osa Ranch covers about 18,300 acres of southern Pinal County, from the Santa Cruz River west toward the Tohono O'odham Nation.
  • Big plans for it are not new. In December 2003 the county amended its land-use plan to allow a previous owner up to 61,299 homes and 5,682 apartments there, but in March 2004 the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended against the rezoning, even after the plan was cut to 30,000 homes on 9,116 acres.
  • In January 2008 the City of Eloy took the whole ranch into its planning area, intending to annex it later. The site is still unincorporated county land inside Eloy's extended planning boundary.
  • Vermaland bought 4,000 acres of the ranch in 2012 and another 4,000 in 2013, through Verma La Osa Ranch, an LLC holding company for Verma Legacy Trust. "We purchased this property because of its extremely low value and the growth potential," Kuldip Verma said at the time. The 2013 plans called for more than 33,000 residential lots, 1,000 acres of commercial development and 2,000 acres of open space.
  • Verma La Osa Ranch I-10/Sasco 3700 LLC owns 26 of the 33 parcels in the recorded Sasco subdivision, named for the Southern Arizona Smelting Co. Its smelter processed Silverbell Mountains copper ore from 1908, the town passed 600 residents by 1910, and the smelter buildings were dismantled in the 1930s. Two of those parcels, and ten lots in Sasco's Smelter Addition held by Verma La Osa Ranch I-10/Sasco Rd Casa Grande 3677 Acres LLC, were part of the La Osa case.

The site

  • 3,385 acres along the Greene Wash, south of Baumgartner Road and the City of Eloy, in Supervisor District 4.
  • Owners of record: Verma La Osa Ranch I-10/Sasco 3700 LLC and Verma La Osa Ranch I-10/Sasco Rd Casa Grande 3677 Acres LLC, with Vermaland LLC as contact.
  • Two 115 kV Western Area Power Administration lines cross the middle of the site, and a 230 kV APS line crosses its southern edge.
  • Most of the land around it is state land, with Bureau of Land Management land to the south.

The 2025 land-use change: approved

Vermaland's application, after a county concept review on May 13, 2025, described the La Osa Employment Center: data centers with natural gas generation. EPS Group Inc. was the civil engineer and planner, and attorney Court Rich of Rose Law Group represented the applicant. Kuldip Verma told KJZZ in August 2025 the plan would cost over $33 billion and could support about 3 gigawatts, and that he expected county approval in the first quarter of 2026.

  • Case PZ-PA-011-25 first asked to re-designate 3,374 acres of residential and open space land to 1,910 acres of Employment, 480 acres of public facilities for energy generation and 983 acres of open space.
  • September 4, 2025: the Citizens Advisory Committee recommended approval 11-4, after Court Rich said the project would not use water cooling technology.
  • October 16, 2025: the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7-3.
  • November 19, 2025: the Board of Supervisors approved it 5-0 as Resolution No. 2025-PZ-PA-011-25, re-designating 3,385.32 acres: 1,907.12 acres of Employment, 486.51 acres of General Public Facilities/Services and 991.69 acres of open space. Five members of the public spoke in favor, including the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona City Fire District's fire chief, and three spoke against, including Rural Arizona Engagement's senior political advisor.

The 2026 rezoning: denied

  • Case PZ-003-26 asked to rezone 2,393 acres from General Rural to I-3 Industrial and keep 992 acres as open space. A companion Planned Area Development overlay, case PZ-PD-003-26, covered data centers, gas-fired power generation and battery storage.
  • The county's May 2026 presentation showed up to 59 data center buildings across more than 2,000 acres and two gas-fired power plants, built in three phases.
  • April 16, 2026: the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of both cases 7-2, with one stipulation on the rezoning and 33 on the overlay.
  • May 27, 2026: before public comment, Court Rich asked for a continuance to cut the project by 80 percent. The Board continued the case to August 26 by a 3-1 vote, with Supervisor Vitiello opposed and Vice-Chairman Serdy absent. Forty-one members of the public spoke against and three in favor, including the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Avra Valley Fire District's fire chief.
  • By the August 26 hearing, attorney Taylor Earl of Earl & Curley had replaced Rose Law Group as the applicant's representative.

What Vermaland offered in August 2026

On August 7 and 14 the applicant submitted 22 more stipulations; its hearing presentation counted 23 new and 56 conditions in all. Among them:

  • No more than 11 data center buildings, each up to 400,000 square feet, plus ancillary structures.
  • No more than 600 net acre-feet a year of potable water for the data centers, power generation and battery storage, with closed-loop cooling for data center and battery storage buildings.
  • On-site power until a utility can serve the data centers, and no more than 1,000 megawatts of on-site natural gas generation.
  • Noise limits of 60 dBA by day and 55 dBA at night, measured from the nearest property line.

Its August 26 presentation said electric service would come from Electrical District 4, the site sits on the Kinder Morgan El Paso Natural Gas system, a 15-year firm gas supply, at the term sheet stage, was arranged to start in November 2027, and 200 MW of aeroderivative turbines were confirmed available. It priced grid upgrades at roughly $150 million, paid by the project. Citing Elliott D. Pollack & Co., it projected about 360 direct jobs, $18.6 billion of capital investment for a 1,000 MW campus and $31.6 million a year in public tax revenue at buildout. It also quoted Derek McEachern, general manager of Electrical District 4 and the Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District: "We believe the aquifer can easily accommodate this use."

The vote

County staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission had not reviewed the 22 added stipulations, and staff recorded 123 letters in opposition and 16 in support. Staff's report also noted that the Mayor of Eloy submitted a recommendation of support, and called La Osa the first proposed data center campus for Pinal County. The Board also received 105 comment cards from people who did not speak, 100 of them opposed. Forty-eight members of the public spoke against and 14 in favor, including members of local construction unions; opponents cited water, electrical infrastructure, noise, air pollution and property values.

On August 26, 2026, Supervisor Rich Vitiello moved to deny and Vice-Chairman Jeff Serdy seconded. Chairman Jeffrey McClure and Supervisor Mike Goodman also voted to deny, and Supervisor Stephen Miller voted against denial, so both the rezoning and the overlay were denied 4-1. "Individuals have a right to use their property the way they want," Miller said. "When 90% of the people are against it, I'm going to vote the will of the people," Serdy said.

Where it is

Aerial photo of desert, washes and farm fields in Pinal County, with the 40 La Osa case parcels outlined in yellow
Aerial photo flown September 15, 2023: USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP); source: USGS, USDA, The National Map: Orthoimagery (public domain). Outline drawn by Arizona AI from Pinal County GIS parcel records.

Outlined in yellow: the 40 parcels in the county case. It shows the land, not where buildings would go. Parcels: Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Regular Session Minutes, November 19, 2025 (Item 10). Shapes: Pinal County GIS (read November 6, 2026).

Open in Google Maps

  • Proposed capacity at full build-out: 1.0 GW
  • Land: 3385 acres

Capacity: Operator's own figure: at full build-out. Vermaland's August 26, 2026 presentation to the Board of Supervisors describes a 1,000 MW campus, and the stipulations it proposed would have capped on-site natural gas generation at 1,000 MW. The 2025 plan was described as up to about 3 GW. The source does not say what the figure measures.

Then and now

Power

Data center buildings

Timeline

  1. : Pinal County amends its land-use plan to allow a previous owner up to 61,299 homes on 19,670 acres at La Osa. Source: Arizona Daily Star, LA OSA RANCH: A rich history
  2. : The Planning and Zoning Commission recommends against rezoning the ranch for homes. Source: Arizona Daily Star, LA OSA RANCH: A rich history
  3. : The City of Eloy expands its planning area to take in the whole ranch. Source: Arizona Daily Star, LA OSA RANCH: A rich history
  4. : Vermaland buys 4,000 acres of the ranch, then 4,000 more. Source: AZ Big Media, Vermaland buys 8,000 acres at La Osa Ranch
  5. : The Citizens Advisory Committee recommends approving the land-use change (vote: 11-4 yes). Source: Pinal County, Planning and Zoning Commission packet, case PZ-PA-011-25 La Osa Project
  6. : The Planning and Zoning Commission recommends approving the land-use change (vote: 7-3 yes). Source: Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Regular meeting minutes, November 19, 2025
  7. : The Board of Supervisors approves the land-use change (vote: 5-0 yes). Source: Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Regular meeting minutes, November 19, 2025
  8. : The Planning and Zoning Commission recommends approving the rezoning (vote: 7-2 yes). Source: Pinal County, Staff report to the Board of Supervisors, La Osa Energy Project, cases PZ-003-26 and PZ-PD-003-26
  9. : Vermaland asks to cut the project by 80 percent, and the Board of Supervisors postpones the case to August 26 (vote: 3-1 continued). Source: Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Regular meeting minutes, May 27, 2026
  10. : The Board of Supervisors denies the rezoning and the Planned Area Development overlay (vote: 4-1 no). Source: Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Regular meeting minutes, August 26, 2026
  11. : An Arizona Globe article reports Vermaland plans to resubmit a smaller project, at 200 or 500 MW. Source: Arizona Globe, EXCLUSIVE: La Osa Data Center Proposal to Continue Despite Pinal County Zoning Rejection, Owner Says

In their words

We are pursuing the project.

Individuals have a right to use their property the way they want.

When 90% of the people are against it, I’m going to vote the will of the people.

News

Stories in Arizona AI's news feed that name this facility, newest first.

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How we know this

Compiled from public records and checked on 2026-11-05. Confidence in this record: high. Blank figures mean the number is not publicly established, not that it is zero.

Each statement on this page is listed with the page it came from and the words that say it. Sources open in a new tab.

Our own notes

These remarks are Arizona AI's own. They say how this record is counted or what we could not find, so there is no outside page to link.

No new La Osa or Vermaland case appeared on Pinal County's public meeting agendas from August 27 through November 4, 2026.