The rooftop panels and churning turbines of booming solar and wind energy are helping make U.S. nuclear power plants, with all the safety fears and rising costs they bring, obsolete, some experts say. So much so that California’s largest utility and environmental groups struck a deal on June 21 to shutter the last facility in the state.

A forum in Phoenix aimed at gathering grass-roots voices to help shape the Democratic Party platform drew calls on June 17 for a tax on carbon emissions to curb climate change and for an end to the practice of fracking in natural gas production.

The newest state utility regulator is blasting Chairman Doug Little for sidelining a discussion of whether Arizona Public Service should be forced to use some of the cash it has from ratepayers to reduce peak energy demand through battery storage.

Arizona Public Service sought to quickly quash concerns last week that a letter submitted as a part of its request for a rate increase gave the appearance that dozens of government officials and nonprofit groups supported raising customers’ utility bills.

A small electric cooperative is trying again to change the way it handles solar by changing net metering and upping fixed charges, a move critics say will cripple the industry in its territory.

The state’s largest electric utility wants to move its residential customers to demand rates, a controversial mechanism that critics say would mean higher bills for many ratepayers.

Two ballot referrals would regulate solar companies as public service corporations and require the Arizona Corporation Commission to change rates and rules for solar.

A small utility that serves parts of rural Arizona is dropping its bid for new controversial rates for all residential customers, but keeping its plan to move solar customers onto those rates.

A constitutional ballot initiative that would preserve the status quo for solar energy for the next six years already has major funding. But utilities and some public officials are lining up against it, setting up a big election battle.

Lesko today confirmed that she’s working with APS, Legislative Council, and Marc Osborn of Arizona Prosperity Alliance to craft a referendum to compete with Kris Mayes’ pro-solar initiative.