Green energy push in Arizona
Tom Steyer is behind a ballot measure seeking to boost use of renewable power.
Arizona’s largest utility is fiercely opposing a push to mandate increased use of renewable energy in the sundrenched state, setting up a political fight over a measure funded by a California billionaire.
Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona aims to ask voters whether they want the state Constitution to require half of Arizona’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. The group plans to file more than 225,000 signatures Thursday to get the question on the November ballot.
Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer is financing the initiative through his Next Gen Climate Action group, which supported similar efforts in Nevada and Michigan. But only the Arizona measure spawned a political battle, with the Republican-controlled Legislature passing a rule to help insulate utilities and the parent company of the state’s largest electricity provider bankrolling opposition messaging.
Steyer, known for climate advocacy as well as his push to impeach President Trump, says he’s backing the proposal because of the benefits it will bring to Arizona. California is already operating under such a 2030 mandate.
“It actually will lead to lower costs and save a lot of money for consumers,” Steyer said. “It leads to clean air and a lot better health outcomes for Arizonans, and it should create literally tens of thousands of jobs in the state of Arizona. So it’s hard to understand why these people are fighting it.”
Supporters of the initiative say Arizona hasn’t taken advantage of its role as the sunniest state in the nation to develop more solar energy, saying it derives just 6% of its energy from solar.
Arizona Public Service Co. says the proposed constitutional amendment would cause customers’ utility rates to skyrocket and harm reliability.
Its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., funneled $1.18 million to Arizonans for Affordable Energy to oppose the initiative in the first three months of the year. Multiple chambers of commerce, Tucson Electric Power and Chicanos por la Causa also oppose it.
“Everyone supports renewable energy,” said Matthew Benson, spokesman for the utility-funded opposition initiative. “The question is whether we are going to have an Arizona plan that is created and implemented by Arizona leaders and officials, or whether we’re going to have a plan crammed down our throats by a political activist from California.”
Arizona is one of three states where Steyer’s group pushed ballot initiatives for higher renewable energy standards. Nevada’s measure hasn’t drawn the same uproar, and the effort in Michigan ended after two utilities decided to increase investments in renewable energy.
Benson says Arizona is different partly because of the numbers — the Michigan initiative had a 30% renewable mandate compared with 50% in Arizona. The Arizona Corporation Commission already requires electric utilities to generate 15% of their energy from renewable sources by 2025.
Jeff Burke, Arizona Public Service director of resources planning, says users would see their bills rise 6% to 14% if the company must ratchet up renewable use ahead of schedule.
“We continue to add renewables to our system, but they have to make sense,” Burke said. “It’s not really about a target, it’s about what makes sense for our customers’ usage and what makes rates affordable and what keeps our system reliable.”