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Arizona

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This summary is part of Beyond the Beltway: A Report on State Energy and Climate Policies produced by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law

Arizona gets 10% of its power from renewables (primarily solar and hydro), with the remainder of its power split among nuclear, gas, and coal. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is the nation’s largest nuclear plant, with the second-highest generating capacity of any power plant. Arizona had a Democratic governor from 2002 to 2008, but has been under unified GOP control for the past ten years. Nevertheless, solar, and particularly utility-scale solar, has been growing rapidly, and in 2015, Arizona was among top five states for installation of new solar facilities (and second after California in terms of installed solar capacity).[1]

Arizona is home to two massive hydro projects, Glenn Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam (on the border with Nevada). Hoover has a capacity of over 2000 MW, serving millions of people in Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California. The increasingly arid climate of the Southwest poses a long-term threat to its generation capacity, which has already materialized during drought years.[2] Glenn Canyon has a capacity of 1320 MW, making it the second biggest hydro source in the Southwest. It, too, is sensitive to drought.[3]

The state does have a renewable portfolio standard, although it is relatively meager compared to those enacted and proposed in neighboring California and Nevada, respectively. In 1996, regulators mandated 0.2% from solar energy by 1999 and 1% by 2003. In 2002, the Environmental Portfolio Standard was set at 0.4% from renewables in 2002 and 1% in 2007, which was ramped up in 2006. The current mandate, the 2006 Renewable Energy Standard & Tariff, requires 15% renewables by 2025.[4]

Geothermal has grown steadily since 2008. The 25 MW Cove Fort facility that opened in 2016 uses a novel combination of hydro and thermal generation: water is heated by geothermal energy and a generator captures that energy. Then it is returned to the well, and a second generator harvests the energy created by its gravitational fall.[5]

While, Arizona has substantial solar generation potential and plenty of room to reduce its current coal and natural gas reliance, a more favorable political environment may be necessary to lead the state toward more progressive energy policies.

 

  1. “Arizona’s Residential Solar Energy Market Expected to Drive Growth,” AZ Big Media (October 24, 2017), https://azbigmedia.com/arizonas-residential-solar-energy-market-expected-to-drive-growth/.
  2. Annie Snider, “Drought Forces First-Ever Cutbacks in Lake Mead Water Deliveries,” Greenwire (August 16, 2013), https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1059986117/.
  3. Emily Guerin, “Glen Canyon Dam’s Evaporating Hydropower,” High Country News (July 7, 2013), http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/glen-canyons-evaporating-hydropower.
  4. Arizona Corporation Commission, “Proposed Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff Rules,” http://www.azcc.gov/divisions/utilities/electric/res.pdf.
  5. Julie Applegate, “Power Plant is First to Combine Geothermal, Hydroelectric Technology,” St. George News (December 9, 2016), https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2016/12/09/jla-power-plant-is- first-to-combine-geothermal-hydroelectric-technology/.