There is no left or right energy. It is all just energy. Cheap is better than expensive, in-state is better than out, abundant is better than scarce, and clean is better than dirty.  For Arizonans, solar paired with storage checks all of those boxes. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just making stuff up.  

We need to revamp our electricity system so customers are no longer held captive by the utilities.

 The facts are clear: Arizona is in a climate crisis, and voters believe clean energy and zero-emission transportation are the solution. This message is more pertinent than ever – we cannot continue our fossil fuel dependence. 

The U.S. energy market is changing more rapidly and dramatically than anyone would have predicted. A steep decline in the price of solar-generated electricity, combined with the rising cost of coal and gas-fired electricity, has turned energy economics on its head. This is particularly true here in the Southwest. 

Last week, Salt River Project announced that it plans to spend nearly $1 billion to add 16 new natural gas units to its powerplant in Coolidge, one of the largest fossil fuel investments by a utility in recent memory. I served on the SRP board from 2016-2020, and this decision stunned me. It is wrong-headed, unnecessary, and out of step with where responsible electric utilities are moving in this country.

A just and sustainable energy transition requires cooperation. Federal, state, and local governments must partner with the utility companies that manage our electric grid and the business community that helps drive investment and innovation.

The rapidly changing energy landscape makes it critical for the burdens of fossil fuel workers and communities to be assessed in all utility planning, so that we aren’t left behind, once again. The Arizona Corporation Commission has the chance now to ask Arizona Public Service to be accountable to all the communities its actions impact, including our Diné communities.

Arizona's largest electric utility said January 22 that it plans to switch to 100% carbon-neutral power generation by 2050, a sharp turnaround from a company that spent tens of millions of dollars two years ago to fight a ballot measure requiring it to use renewable sources.

Undoubtedly, natural gas and renewables are gaining prominence in Arizona and the nation. But it makes sense to keep all options on the table. In Arizona, coal and nuclear power have proven reliable for decades. They should continue to be part of an all-of-the-above energy mix alongside natural gas and solar for years to come.

Witnesses and lawmakers called for action Thursday to head off the 2019 closure of the Navajo Generating Station, a move that could mean the loss of thousands of jobs at the plant and the coal mine that fuels it.