Latest news with #ArizonaPublicService
Axios
2 days ago
- Business
- Axios
APS rolls back clean energy commitment
Arizona Public Service (APS) is reversing course on its landmark 2020 pledge to produce electricity with zero carbon emissions and be completely reliant on clean energy by 2050. Why it matters: This marks a significant retreat from one of the power sector's most ambitious climate commitments — just as the Southwest is grappling with worsening heat, drought and climate-driven strain on the grid. State of play: CEO Ted Geisler announced on a Wednesday earnings call that APS parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. is abandoning its "zero carbon" plan to instead aim to be "carbon neutral" by 2050. Under carbon neutrality, APS, the state's largest utility, would still emit carbon, but it would be offset by reducing emissions elsewhere. Zero-carbon means the 100% elimination of carbon emissions. Jill Freret, APS' director of resource integration and fuels, told 12 News Wednesday that the 2020 plans "were aspirational goals at the time." Zoom in: In a Wednesday press statement, Pinnacle West said that meeting the energy needs of Arizona's growing population requires "the most reliable and cost-effective resources available to us." "Clean energy remains an important consideration for us," Geisler said, "but always with a focus on a balanced energy mix that best serves reliability and affordability." The company will seek opportunities to "support reliability" through other resources, including natural gas. APS will also scrap other shorter-term goals, including getting 65% of its energy from clean sources by 2030, the Arizona Republic reported. Driving the news: APS also said Wednesday that the company — along with Salt River Project, Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy Services and the city of Mesa — would get natural gas starting in 2029 from a planned 600-mile pipeline that will extend from west Texas to the Valley. "It certainly has the potential to help support additional development and investment into Arizona," Court Rich, an attorney with Rose Law Group who specializes in energy and utility issues, told Axios. What they're saying: Corporation Commissioner Nick Myers praised APS on X for "backing off their Green New Deal style policies." The other side: Attorney General Kris Mayes and Bill Mundell, both former corporation commissioners, told Axios that increased reliance on natural gas will allow APS to seek rate increases to cover the costs of new plants.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinnacle West's quarterly profit falls on lower power demand from milder Arizona weather
(Reuters) -Pinnacle West Capital reported a 5.5% fall in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as mild weather across Arizona cut into the utility's power demand during the April-June period. Reduced temperatures in the quarter led to around 15% fewer cooling degree-days, a key measure of energy demand, compared to the same period in 2024, which included record-breaking heat. "Given how big an impact air conditioning has on energy use in Arizona, it's no surprise that the cooler weather resulted in lower earnings this quarter," CEO Ted Geisler said in a statement. Higher costs for fuel, maintenance and borrowing also weighed on results, alongside lower tax credits and pension-related income. The company's total operating expense rose to $1.05 billion during the quarter, from $995.2 million during the same period a year ago. Its total interest costs rose to $101.9 million, from $97.9 million a year ago. The Phoenix, Arizona-based utility said net income attributable to common shareholders declined to $192.6 million, or $1.58 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, from last year's $203.8 million, or $1.76 per share. Its main subsidiary, Arizona Public Service, which serves about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the state, saw a 2.4% increase in customers in the quarter. Sign in to access your portfolio
Axios
4 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Data centers could boost rising electricity costs
Electricity costs are rising nationwide, including in Arizona, and could get even higher for some amid the explosion in data centers powering AI and more. Why it matters: Surging power bills could further stress many Americans' budgets as pretty much everything else also gets more expensive. By the numbers: The nationwide average retail residential price for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity rose from 16.41 cents to 17.47 cents from May 2024 to May 2025, per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a gain of about 6.5%. Some states had large increases, such as Maine (36.3%) and Connecticut (18.4%), while just five states had decreases. State of play: Arizona had one of the smallest electricity cost increases during that time, from 15.49 cents to 15.76 cents (1.7%). The intrigue: The Corporation Commission is preparing for the strain that data centers are expected to put on Arizona's energy grid. Possibilities include higher energy rates for data centers to pay for the extra infrastructure and power generation facilities they could necessitate, or allowing them to generate their own power. Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation this year that would've waived some environmental and zoning regulations to make it easier for large industrial power users like data centers to place small modular nuclear reactors at their facilities. Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power this year announced that they're exploring the possibility of building a nuclear plant. Zoom in: There are several plans for massive new data centers in Arizona, including a 3,330-square-foot, $33 billion "data center corridor" in Eloy, which would be among the largest in the U.S. Project Blue, a proposed data center in Tucson, has faced public backlash over concerns about energy and water use. Zoom out: Electricity prices vary regionally and have many influences, including basic supply and demand, fuel rates and infrastructure costs. Yet many analysts point to power-hungry data centers as a driver of rising rates, especially in data center hotspots. That's partly because of data centers' immediate demand for energy, but also because grid operators are investing in new transmission lines and other gear to handle their expected proliferation — and passing those costs along to customers.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Recurrent Energy Energizes 1,200 MWh Storage Facility in Arizona Ahead of Peak Summer Demand
First of three projects with APS now in operation, delivering flexible capacity to the grid KITCHENER, ON, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), and a leading global developer, owner, and operator of solar and energy storage assets, announced today that the 1,200 MWh Papago Storage facility in Maricopa County, Arizona, has reached commercial operation. The project is now dispatching stored energy to Arizona Public Service (APS), the state's largest electric utility, in time to help meet rising electricity demand during the summer season. Papago Storage is the first of three Recurrent Energy projects with tolling agreements in place with APS to become operational. Collectively, the three projects will provide 1,800 MWh of battery storage capacity and 150 MWac of solar generation. Once all are fully operational, they will store and deliver enough electricity to serve the equivalent of 72,000 homes for four hours, along with solar generation capacity sufficient to support approximately 24,000 homes annually. Derek Seaman, APS Director of Resource Acquisition, said, "Summer is here, and we are ready to serve APS customers with the energy they need when they need it. The Papago Storage project is part of our diverse and balanced energy mix, helping us continue to provide Arizona with top-tier reliability and affordable service." Kevin Thompson, Chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission noted, "I commend Recurrent Energy for completion of their 300MW Papago Energy Storage Project. Bringing online one of our state's largest battery storage projects during this critical time when energy demand is growing rapidly will help our utilities execute an all-of-the-above response to that demand and further diversify Arizona's energy resources." Arizona House Majority Leader Michael Carbone added, "I congratulate Recurrent Energy on this tremendous energy storage achievement. With our favorable business climate, Arizona's economy is attracting development from all over the world, and we must provide the energy to accommodate this incredible growth. The Papago Storage Project will play an important role in Arizona's energy future." In addition to strengthening grid reliability, the project also contributes to the local community through tax revenues and direct support. Through its Community CaRE (Community and Renewable Energy) Program, Recurrent Energy has donated to the Harquahala Fire District and Arlington Elementary School in Maricopa County. Canadian Solar's majority-owned subsidiary, e-STORAGE, served as the turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction provider for the project and will continue to support Papago Storage under a long-term service agreement. Ismael Guerrero, CEO of Recurrent Energy, stated, "The commissioning of Papago Storage marks a major milestone in our collaboration with APS to strengthen Arizona's energy infrastructure. We're proud to deliver flexible capacity that meets the state's growing energy needs and grateful for APS's continued partnership. As we begin operations, we remain committed to building long-term value for the local community and our partners." About Recurrent Energy Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., is one of the world's largest and most geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage project development, ownership, and operations platforms. With an industry-leading team of in-house energy experts, Recurrent Energy serves as Canadian Solar's global development and power services business. To date, Recurrent Energy has successfully developed, built, and connected approximately 12 GWp of solar projects and 6 GWh of energy storage projects across six continents. As of March 31, 2025, its global pipeline comprises approximately 25 GWp of solar power and over 69 GWh of energy storage capacity, excluding China. Additional details are available at About Canadian Solar Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest solar technology and renewable energy companies. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, the Company is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules; provider of solar energy and battery energy storage solutions; and developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects. Over the past 24 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered nearly 157 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Through its subsidiary e-STORAGE, Canadian Solar has shipped over 11 GWh of battery energy storage solutions to global markets as of March 31, 2025, boasting a $3.2 billion contracted backlog as of March 31, 2025. Since entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar has developed, built, and connected approximately 12 GWp of solar power projects and 6 GWh of battery energy storage projects globally. Its geographically diversified project development pipeline includes 27 GWp of solar and 76 GWh of battery energy storage capacity in various stages of development. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release, including those regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, revenues, gross margins, and project sales are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "future", "ongoing", "continue", "intend", "plan", "potential", "prospect", "guidance", "believe", "estimate", "is/are likely to" or similar expressions, the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, our expectations regarding global electricity demand and the adoption of solar and battery energy storage technologies; our growth strategies, future business performance, and financial condition; our transition to a long-term owner and operator of clean energy assets and expansion of project pipelines; our ability to monetize project portfolios, manage supply chain fluctuations, and respond to economic factors such as inflation and interest rates; our outlook on government incentives, trade measures, regulatory developments, and geopolitical risks; our expectations for project timelines, costs, and returns; competitive dynamics in solar and storage markets; our ability to execute supply chain, manufacturing, and operational initiatives; access to capital, debt obligations, and covenant compliance; relationships with key suppliers and customers; technological advancement and product quality; and risks related to intellectual property, litigation, and compliance with environmental and sustainability regulations. Other risks were described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 30, 2025. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law. Canadian Solar Inc. Investor Relations ContactWina HuangInvestor RelationsCanadian Solar Inc. investor@ Recurrent Energy Media InquiriesInés ArrimadasRecurrent Energycomm_global@ View original content: SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
San Francisco Chronicle
11-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
One way Trump's DOGE cuts could actually help environmentalists in the West
No big government infrastructure project made an imprint on the landscape and economy of the West more than the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 20th century dam-building spree, which peppered 490 dams across the country, created an agricultural civilization dependent on federal hydrology civil engineering and brought about a welter of environmental difficulties after drying up dozens of once-healthy rivers. Today, the agency claims a $1.4 billion budget to maintain its fleet of aging dams. It was perhaps inevitable that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, would seek to cut it down. Approximately 400 workers at the bureau — including dam tenders, emergency management specialists and hydrologists — received 'reduction in force' letters in March, raising fears that poorly monitored dams could fail, creating catastrophic flooding. This, just five weeks after President Donald Trump stoked fears of mismanagement by ordering billions of gallons of water released from two Central Valley dams, against the objections of officials, water experts and farmers. Turmoil in the federal dam management system represents potential disaster but also a prime opportunity: It offers environmentalists an opening to make a vigorous case for dam removal — a move that could save costs and please business interests while achieving a longstanding goal of getting rid of the most harmful and obsolete blockages on Western rivers. At Fossil Creek in the high country of north-central Arizona, a gorgeous waterfall now tumbles near headwaters where an Arizona Public Service hydroelectric dam stood until 2005. Ask people swimming below the falls where the dam was located, and you'll get some puzzled looks. 'There was never any dam here,' said one, unaware he was standing right next to its remnants, masonry concealed under travertine deposits that give it every appearance of a natural falls. Arizona built the dam in 1916 to run the ore-crushers at nearby copper and gold mines at Jerome and Crown King. Eventually, the dam also powered streetlights in Phoenix. But by the end of the century, the river had been killed and the antique plant was providing only .002% of Arizona Public Service's revenue. So the utility company took 14 feet off the top of the dam and let Fossil Creek flow, and a once-dead waterway sprang back to magnificent life. By 2009, Congress was impressed enough by the transformation to designate this once-tired industrialized trickle a National Wild and Scenic River. Twenty years after the removal, rare species like the Chiricahua leopard frog, southwestern willow flycatcher and yellow-billed cuckoo thrive in pools near the banks. Young cottonwood trees are growing. Algae are reblooming. About 500,000 dams stand in the United States today, and 90,000 of them are more than 25 feet high. The biggest are in the West, but obsolete remnants of 19th century and 20th century industrialization also litter New England and other Eastern regions. These dams have served many purposes — turning mill wheels, impounding water for crops, preventing floods, generating electricity and giving livestock a drink — but scientific consensus now holds that they do more collective damage than good. The stagnant pools, mounds of underwater silt, mosquito-breeding artificial ponds and detritus of long-shuttered factories do little to enhance the ecosystem or the landscape. But removing even useless dams is a complicated and often maddening process, according to Dartmouth College geography Professor Francis Magilligan. In some cases, it is unclear who owns a dam or has jurisdiction over it. Local groups may consider a dam a historic site. And even though it is almost always cheaper to remove a defective dam rather than repair it, the process involved can stymie those efforts. Only about 2,200 dams in the U.S. have been successfully removed, Magilligan notes. Decommissioning Fossil Creek was possible because it presented a unique political case. Many people at Arizona Public Service felt proud of the dam and the plant, and resisted shutting it down. Even though it was practically an antique, the flume leading down from the dam to the Childs and Irving power plants was still helping generate 4 megawatts of electricity (enough to power about 1,000 homes) and making about $500,000 per year for the Fortune 500 company. But the company was Arizona's largest utility and a powerful lobbying force in the state Legislature with a long-term interest in good public relations. There was also a personal quirk. Bill Post, the CEO of the utility's parent company, happened to be childhood friends with the outspoken environmentalist Robin Silvers, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity. Silvers appealed to Post's outdoorsman side in making the case for Fossil Creek. Over the objections of colleagues, Post approved the dam removal as a goodwill gesture and a concession to Silver's lobbying just before it was up for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The greatest environmental threat at Fossil Creek now comes not from stagnant water or unhealthy biomes but from a crush of human sunseekers and water hounds in the summer who create traffic and litter. Scientists are looking at the long-term implications of shutting down the dam, assessing the movement of the 90-year silt buildup behind the dam walls, and the potential reentry of nonnative fish like bass and sunfish. And Fossil Creek is not the only recent high-profile test case for Western dam removal. A coalition of Native tribes in California convinced Berkshire Hathaway Energy to transfer ownership of four dams on the Klamath River to a nonprofit organization to oversee their dismantling in the name of rehabilitating a salmon fishery. Not that science is a major concern of the federal government right now. Trump administration officials have proposed expanding the capacity of the Shasta Dam to hold back more of the McCloud River in Northern California. However, if DOGE is truly interested in saving money instead of making blind layoffs, it will take a serious look at a dam removal program and sell it to the public as a cost-cutting measure, ironically making the 'drill, baby, drill' Trump administration a champion of riparian health.
