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ENB Pub Note: Mitch Rolling and Isaac Orr are the “Energy Bad Boys”. I had a great podcast interview with them, and it is in production. It is a great interview and sheds a nice background on the bad Boys of Energy and their substack. Subscribe and support them HERE: https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/the-energy-transition-in-retreat?
“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” — Otto von Bismarck
Arizona Moves to Repeal Its Renewable Mandate
In a little-reported move, members of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted on February 6th, 2024, to initiate a proceeding eliminating the state’s renewable energy mandates, which require regulated utilities like Arizona Public Service (APS) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
This measure was approved along a 4-1 party-line vote—ACC Commissioners are elected in Arizona— with Republicans voting to revoke the mandates and the lone Democrat voting to keep them. If the mandates are repealed, Arizona will join West Virginia and Montana in completely repealing its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), according to a database maintained by the National Conference of State Legislators.
Cost Consternation
Arizona’s mandates for wind, solar, and energy efficiency have come under fire from Republican members of the ACC who argue the regulations have cost the state $3.5 billion since they were first implemented in 2006 and no longer provide system benefits, according to Utility Dive.
Commissioner Kevin Thompson, a Republican who voted to repeal the mandates, criticized what he called outdated mandates that involve “incentives and giveaways left and right,” reported a local Arizona news station.
“I welcome utility programs that actually reduce energy consumption and meet avoided costs but not under the threat of commission mandates that can be easily hijacked by financially interested stakeholders.”
According to the Arizona Star, ACC Commissioner Nick Myers noted that he believes “it is time for the Commission to reconsider these rules and mandates that appear to unnecessarily drive up costs.” He continued, saying that “Utilities should select the most cost-effective energy mix to provide reliable and affordable service, without being constrained by government-imposed mandates that make it more expensive for their customers.”
As Isaac noted in his testimony to Ohio and Pennsylvania lawmakers, there is an energy hierarchy of needs where reliability must come first, affordability must come second, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions must come third. It is encouraging that ACC members seem to understand this important order of operations, because when carbon reductions take precedence, either affordability or reliability, or both, start to deteriorate.
Solar Interests Seethe
Autumn Johnson of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association said she was unaware of any state repealing its existing renewable portfolio standards entirely, which she credited for boosting the solar energy economy, which employs more than 8,000 Arizonans.
“I worry that being the only state in the country to repeal what is already an extremely modest RPS sends the wrong signal to the industry. It says, ‘Take your business, your jobs, and your dollars elsewhere,’” Johnson said.
Arguments like these are common but as my friend and American Experiment colleague
(check out his Substack!) often notes, the purpose of the energy industry is to create energy, not create jobs.
According to the U.S. Energy and Jobs Report for Arizona, the electric power generation sector employed 23,898 workers in The Grand Canyon State in 2022. Using the employment data in the report and generation data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), we can see that solar currently generates less electricity per job than hydroelectric power, natural gas, nuclear, coal, and wind.
This may shift over time because solar jobs are largely temporary jobs in the installation sector, but as it currently stands, the energy return on each person employed is the lowest for oil-peaking plants, solar, and wind generation.
Check out the Energy Bad Boys on the Power Gab Podcast
The post The Energy Transition in Retreat: Arizona Moves to Repeal Its Renewable Mandate first appeared on Energy News Beat.
The post The Energy Transition in Retreat: Arizona Moves to Repeal Its Renewable Mandate appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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