Wind Power News: Arizona
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Southern Arizona wind farm investigated after death of bat, eagle
COCHISE COUNTY – In the mountains 20 miles west of Willcox, 15 wind turbines stand 450 feet tall, spinning with the wind. This is the Red Horse II Wind Farm, the only wind farm operating in southern Arizona. The wind farm is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division in connection with the death of a federally protected golden eagle and a lesser long-nosed bat. The bat was listed as endangered in 1988, and in . . . Complete story »
SunZia powerlines would destroy wetlands, kill birds, opponents say
The SunZia power project faces a new objection, this time from an environmental group that fears the high-voltage transmission lines from New Mexico to Arizona will inflict irreparable damage to wetlands and bird populations. The $2 billion project, proposed in 2008, calls for building two 1,500-megawatt lines running 520 miles from central New Mexico to Eloy, between Tucson and Phoenix, to carry wind-generated electricity to Western markets. Opponents question how much renewable energy the lines would actually transport, whether wind-power . . . Complete story »
Trial begins over renewable energy proposal in Arizona
Hundreds of witnesses came to court Monday in downtown Phoenix for a trial over whether a proposal requiring the use of more renewable energy in Arizona should be barred from appearing on the November ballot. Most of the witnesses at the five-day trial had gathered signatures from voters on behalf of the campaign to put the Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona proposal on the ballot. The trial began with an unknown number of signature petitions being thrown out because . . . Complete story »
The $3 billion plan to turn Hoover Dam into a giant battery
Hoover Dam helped transform the American West, harnessing the force of the Colorado River – along with millions of cubic feet of concrete and tens of millions of pounds of steel – to power millions of homes and businesses. It was one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century. Now it is the focus of a distinctly 21st-century challenge: turning the dam into a vast reservoir of excess electricity, fed by the solar farms and wind turbines that represent the . . . Complete story »
APS spends $11 million to keep 50% renewables measure off ballot
“Anchoring a policy in the state constitution is not good policymaking and it really cuts against the market and the operating of the system as it exists in Arizona,” said Greg Bernosky, a former APS regulatory executive who now works at Pinnacle West, the utility’s parent. “All of us understand that more and more clean technology is going to be part of of the future, but anchoring something on a ballot in the constitution is just not the right way to make policy.” Complete story »
California billionaire roils Arizona utilities with push for renewable energy
Arizona’s largest utility is fiercely opposing a push to mandate increased use of renewable energy in the sun-drenched 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 come from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2030. The group plans to file more than 225,000 signatures Thursday get the question on the November . . . Complete story »
Keeping on the right clean energy course for Arizona
The fight over a so-called clean energy ballot measure from California billionaire Tom Steyer has been in the news a lot lately. At best, this proposed change to our state constitution is ill-conceived and irresponsible energy policy. At worst, it is political gaming at the expense of Arizona residents. Either way, it sets Arizona’s energy future on the wrong course. The Steyer camp arrogantly claims that opposing their bad idea of energy policy is the same as opposing clean energy, . . . Complete story »
New ballot measure crops up in Arizona clean energy fight
Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature are moving to put their own version of an increased renewable energy mandate on the November ballot. If approved, the new measure would compete with one being circulated by Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona. Both measures would insert a constitutional mandate to require 50 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2030 – but the new legislative version would allow state utility regulators to sidestep the standards . . . Complete story »
Utility writes its own renewable energy ballot measure
Afraid that voters might like a renewable energy mandate, the state’s largest utility is working with lawmakers to put its own alternative on the November ballot. On paper, what’s going to the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday has the same goal as the initiative of having 50 percent of what’s generated in Arizona produced by renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal by 2030. That compares with the current mandate of the Arizona Corporation Commission for 15 percent renewable by 2025. . . . Complete story »
Greater Phoenix Chamber Opposes “Clean Energy For A Healthy Arizona Amendment”
PRESS STATEMENT MEDIA CONTACT: Janelle Tassart C: 480.215.2149 | O: 602.495.6480 jtassart@phoenixchamber.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 22, 2018 Greater Phoenix Chamber Opposes ballot initiative “clean energy for a healthy arizona amendment” PHOENIX – Today, the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors opposed the proposed ballot initiative titled the Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment. This initiative, filed by an out-of-state group funded primarily by California billionaire Tom Steyer, would amend Arizona’s State Constitution and require Arizona utility . . . Complete story »
