Arizona Public Service (APS) new commitment to deliver carbon-free electricity to its customers by 2050 “is an important step toward a net-zero carbon economy,” said Dan Bakal, senior director of electric power at Ceres.
In an announcement made today, Arizona’s largest electricity provider also shared interim commitments to achieve 45% renewable energy by 2030 and retire its remaining coal generation by 2031.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates that APS is very focused on some of the most critical priorities of our time: tackling climate change and accelerating the transition to clean energy,” added Bakal. “These commitments are among the most ambitious in the industry and we encourage APS to implement them effectively—taking into account broad engagement from across the stakeholder spectrum, including the business community that is increasingly seeking clean energy.”
Major companies in Arizona—including some of APS’s largest customers such as Ball Corporation, ON Semiconductor Recleim, Schneider Electric and others—called on the Arizona Corporate Commission to require Arizona utilities adopt a robust carbon emissions reduction target that is based on the latest climate science. In a letter delivered to the ACC on Tuesday, the companies also shared their support for a strong, enforceable renewable energy standard and tariff (REST) and electric energy efficiency standard (EEES).
“These companies have made bold commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions and transition to renewable energy—and they know that to meet these goals they need their utilities to scale up investments toward a zero-carbon future,” said Alli Gold Roberts, director of state policy at Ceres. “We look forward to working with the Arizona business community to help APS deliver on its new goals and grow the state’s clean energy economy.”