January 28, 2020: On January 23rd, the largest Arizona utility, Arizona Public Service (APS), announced its commitment to 45 percent renewable energy, 65 percent carbon free energy by 2030, and 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. In addition to this, APS will be coal-free by 2031. The Cholla Coal Plant is currently set to retire in 2025 and now the coal-fired Four Corners will retire by 2031, if not sooner. Currently, only 13 percent of the utility’s electricity is generated from renewable sources, so this commitment represents a dramatic increase in the generation coming from renewable generation in sun-rich Arizona.
The tireless work of a team of Sierra Club Environmental Law Program attorneys, including Louisa Eberle, Peter Morgan, Greg Wannier, Rose Monahan, and Gloria Smith, has made a significant impact in Arizona in recent months. In December, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to support solar development in Arizona, giving independent renewable energy developers a reasonable opportunity to secure financing for clean energy projects. Sierra Club is also emphasizing the need for a just transition away from dirty, expensive fossil generation through long-term resource planning dockets for APS and another of Arizona’s major utilities, Tucson Electric Power (TEP). The Sierra Club, represented by the Law Program, is opposing requests by APS and TEP to increase the rates they charge to customers in order to pay for their continued investments in dirty, expensive coal plants and new, unnecessary gas plants--citing misleading characterizations of their system need and inaccurately presenting the potential for renewable energy and storage.