Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
"The time is right for electric cars – in fact, the time is critical." –Carlos Ghosn
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Learn More and Take Action on Net Metering on September 24 We need your help to protect solar rights in Arizona. Arizona Public Service (APS) has proposed rolling back benefits for rooftop solar customers by eliminating net metering. Currently, customers with a solar rooftop system can save about 70% on their electric bills by using less electricity from the grid and also by receiving credits for excess power generated by their systems that is sent back to the grid. Societal benefits from solar are also abundant – less pollution, less water use, reduced contribution to global climate change, and more. Now, APS wants to restrict these benefits. Its proposals call for either significantly increasing the electricity rate for rooftop solar customers or significantly reducing the amount residential solar customers receive for the excess energy they produce, much less than the fair market rate. Both of these proposals would result in much lower savings for the solar-rooftop customer and would undermine residential solar programs overall. Join us at this special meeting of our Energy Team to learn more about net metering and what you can do to help keep it intact.
Can't make the meeting? Please send a message. Ask the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject APS's proposed changes to net metering.
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Celebrate electric vehicles on September 28 and 29 National Plug In Day is a nationwide celebration to heighten awareness of today's widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and to highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrids. Join us at one of these events! Volunteers are also needed to help distribute information to participants.
Volunteers needed! For more information and to get involved, please contact Jon Findley at (480) 756-2916 or nrgarizona@gmail.com. |
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Encourage Tucson Electric Power to clean up its act Several dozen individuals and representatives of Tucson neighborhoods and community organizations held a meeting earlier this month to decide what to do about Tucson Electric Power's (TEP's) coal-fired power plant on the city's south side, the H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station. TEP could stop burning the coal it has already purchased in a long-term contract and switch to natural gas, plus continue to ramp up its renewable energy generation. The Sundt plant is the 13th worst environmental justice performer in the entire U.S., according to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, owing to its total lack of sulfur dioxide pollution controls and its location near low-income areas in Tucson. See the latest news on TEP. If you would like to join our efforts to clean up Tucson's air, please contact Dan Millis at dan.millis@sierraclub.org or join our Tucson Clean Energy email discussion list by filling out this short form. |
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Arizona Corporation Commission closes discussion The Arizona Corporation Commission, the government body that sets utility rates for investor-owned utilities such as APS and TEP, as well as for electric cooperatives, has decided to suspend its discussions about deregulation or retail electric competition because of legal questions. The ACC voted 4-1 to stop advancing this proposal after its legal counsel indicated that deregulating would be unconstitutional. Sierra Club had concerns about deregulation and the special carve-out that the utilities wanted for coal-fired power plants, the impacts on low-income ratepayers, and the potential negative impacts to renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. For now, this effort has been set aside, but it is likely proponents, including the Goldwater Institute, will look for an angle to bring it back. For more information, Sandy Bahr at (602) 253-8633 or sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org. |
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Energy Tip O' the Day As summer nears its end, consider using alternate cooling sources for your home or business, rather than just relying on your air conditioner. For example, open your windows during cooler times of the day or use fans to help cool and circulate air in your home or business. |
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