After receiving thousands of petitions calling for higher renewable and clean energy standards, state utility regulators are moving forward with a draft rule that could — if adopted — require 100% clean energy by 2050. It’s not exactly what advocates wanted — groups like the Sierra Club and Vote Solar were hoping to reach the 100 percent mark by 2045 — but it’s a significant step.
In 2018, Arizona voters defeated a state ballot initiative that would’ve required state utilities to increase their use of renewable-energy sources.
Clean-energy advocates took their case directly to the state’s utility regulator, the Arizona Corporation Commission. State Rep. Kirsten Engel joined the Sierra Club and three other organizations in delivering 5,000 petitions to the commission earlier this week.
The petitions advocate for a 50% renewable-energy standard by 2030, the same standard that the 2018 ballot initiative would have imposed. The new plan also pushes for a 100% renewable-energy commitment by 2045.
Art Terrazas is the Interior West Director at Vote Solar, an organization joining the Sierra Club to push the petitions.
“If you were to compare prices, for you know, for energy companies purchasing energy, wind and solar are now the cheapest sources available to buy," Terrazas said.
A report shows that the current renewable-energy standard has helped create $2 billion for APS and Tucson Electric Power customers since 2008.
The Show spoke with Terrazas about the commissioners’ decision — and his reaction to the move.
