Bipartisan Compromise in Arizona Results in Carbon-Free Energy Plan

"With a 4 to 1 vote last week, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved a plan requiring regulated utilities in the state to move to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050," reports Dan Gearino. "The plan includes interim targets of 50 percent carbon-free energy by 2032, and 75 percent by 2040."

According to Gearino, the new policy is the result of rare bipartisan cooperation—and a win for the environment in a state with a Republican governor. The bipartisan coalition that managed to see the new policy through even overcame staunch opposition from the state's largest utility, Arizona Public Service.

The plan includes a lot more potential for change in the state's energy system:

The plan is much more than the 2050 target. Among the other provisions, it includes a change in policy for energy storage that opens the door to groups of customers with energy storage to band together and sell electricity to the grid. It also increases the state's requirements for energy efficiency, which means utilities need to expand programs that help customers reduce their electricity use.

A lot more detail on the political breakthroughs that paved the way for this plan to eliminate carbon emissions from Arizona's electricity grid are included itn eh source article.