AriSEIA filed a formal complaint today against Unisource Energy Company (UNSE). UNSE has been violating Arizona's Line Siting statutes for 16 years by operating Black Mountain Generating Station (a 122 MW gas plant) without a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC). The complaint asks for UNSE to be required to obtain a CEC right away and pay punitive damages.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Autumn Johnson
520-240-4757
[email protected]

Phoenix, AZ: Today, the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee (Committee) voted overwhelming in support of AriSEIA's position in opposition to Unisource Electric's (UNSE) application for a disclaimer of jurisdiction for its Black Mountain Expansion Project. The Committee voted 9-2 to deny UNSE's application and agreed with AriSEIA, Sierra Club, Western Resource Advocates (WRA), and Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

UNSE requested the Committee interpret Arizona law in a way it had never done in its 53 year history. ARS 40-360 was enacted by the legislature in 1971 as a means to "provide a single forum for the expeditious resolution of all matters concerning the location of electric generating plants and transmission lines in a single proceeding to which access will be open to interested and affected individuals, groups... to enable them to participate in these decisions." The statute applies to thermal plants (gas, coal, nuclear, hydro) 100 MW or greater. For the first time, UNSE argued the statute should only apply to turbines greater than 100 MW, regardless of how big the plant as a whole is. This would have eliminated regulatory review for all new gas and small modular nuclear plants in Arizona, significantly disadvantaging renewables in any kind of request for proposal process.

AriSEIA argued this interpretation was both illogical and also incorrect under the facts of the case. "Reason prevailed today when the Line Siting Committee told one of Arizona's largest utilities that it also must abide by the law," said Autumn Johnson, Executive Director of AriSEIA. "UNSE has knowingly been violated Arizona law for 16 years and it is time it is held accountable."

The Committee will issue a formal Order denying UNSE's request for a disclaimer of jurisdiction in the coming weeks. The full docket can be found here.

About AriSEIA

AriSEIA is the leading voice of the solar industry in Arizona, dedicated to advancing solar energy through advocacy, education, and collaboration. With a commitment to promoting sustainable energy solutions, AriSEIA serves as a catalyst for the growth and development of Arizona's solar industry.

AriSEIA was granted a rehearing on the grid access charge (a discriminatory fee on solar), which was imposed in the most recent APS rate case. This fee charges a new flat fee on all solar customers in APS service territory with no substantive basis in the record. Therefore, a rehearing was granted. APS is seeking to defend this discriminatory fee on solar is also trying to rush the rehearing, so that parties like AriSEIA cannot build the record against the charge. Therefore, we proposed our own schedule. The administrative law judge will take up this matter on Friday. 

AriSEIA filed a response to Commissioner Tovar's letter in the Unisource Electric (UNSE) Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) matter. The letter inquired about the policy statement surrounding the Line Siting statutes and UNSE's interpretation. Read her letter here.

A recent Arizona Republic article thoroughly discussed Mohave Electric Cooperative’s Mohave Energy Park and its local opposition. It also stated that “with a capacity of 98 megawatts – just shy of the 100 MW limit that requires approval under Arizona law by a committee that would provide a ‘forum for interested and affected individuals.'"

What folks in Mohave County may not know is that Unisource Electric (UNSE) is simultaneously planning a 200 MW expansion of Black Mountain Generating Station located in Golden Valley.

Not only is the UNSE gas plant expansion twice as big as the Mohave Electric project, but UNSE is arguing that the Arizona law referenced above should be reinterpreted to exempt their project from review, too. UNSE has asked the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee to waive its jurisdiction over the Black Mountain Expansion Project because the individual turbines are less than 100 MW.

UNSE argues that Arizona law considers the individual turbines “plants” instead of the entire project and since their turbines are 50 MW each for a total of 200 MW of new gas, they do not need review. Not only would this limit the ability of Mohave County residents to weigh in on the siting of this project, but it would pave the way for all utilities in Arizona to argue the same thing for their projects.

If UNSE is successful, essentially all new gas plants in Arizona would be exempt from the law that intended to create a public process and protect the local environment from new power plants. Mohave County residents, like everyone in Arizona, would not have a voice at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) before these plants are built.
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April 24 is the time to offer public comment on UNSE’s interpretation of Arizona law. The public can file comments online through the ACC’s website (use Docket No. L-00000F-24-0056-00230) or in person, via Zoom, or via the telephone at the time of the hearing (April 24 starting at 10 a.m.). The hearing will take place at the ACC at 1200 W. Washington Street in Phoenix.

AriSEIA filed an objection to UNSE's motion to consolidate all intervenors in their Line Siting matter as one, which would deprive AriSEIA of its due process rights, violate the law, and leave industry with no representation in a proceeding that could change the way all new gas power plants in our state are regulated.

Mohave County Planning and Zoning Commission
Development Services Department
P.O. Box 7000
Kingman, AZ 86402
 
RE: April 10th  Planning and Zoning Meeting, Agenda Item 17, Evaluation of a Request to Amend the Mohave County Zoning Ordinance Section 12.2, Energy Overlay (E) Zone; Section 37.4, Special Uses, and Section 37.U, Energy Projects.
 
Supervisors, Commissioners, and Staff,
 
AriSEIA is the State’s nonprofit solar, storage, and electrification trade association. We are active at all levels of government in Arizona, working to advance renewables policy. We worked heavily on Eloy’s 2023 ordinance and are currently working with Yavapai County and Pinal County on similar processes. We spoke to the Mohave County Board of Supervisors when the Moratorium was passed last fall. We also presented an economic impact analysis completed by Elliott Pollack and have included that here as Attachment B for your convenience.
 
We have also attached redlines of the proposed Ordinance here as Attachment A. We encourage you to make a few small modifications before submitting this to the Board of Supervisors for a vote. However, when the final version is voted on, we encourage you to replace the existing Moratorium with the new ordinance as soon as possible.
 
Our two biggest concerns with the proposed Mohave Ordinance are the one mile buffer zone and the amount of time (12 months) that triggers decommissioning. We suggest a quarter mile buffer zone and a force majeure clause for decommissioning, as there are reasons why there may be a 12+ month delay that are not the result of abandonment.
 
We would be happy to participate in any stakeholder process the County implements to finalize this Ordinance. Thank you for your time and consideration.
 
Respectfully,
 
/s/ Autumn T. Johnson
Executive Director
AriSEIA 
(520) 240-4757
[email protected]