By Madeline Bates
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When the Valley’s utilities think of Earth Day, it’s primarily about how they are trying to wean the power grid off carbon sources of generation.

Salt River Project serves more than 2 million people in central Arizona, including those within the Phoenix area. After a highly publicized election, newly elected board President Chris Dobson is excited to see what’s new for SRP’s reliability, sustainability and affordability in the coming years.

“We’re a nonprofit, and our goal is to give back to our customers in any way that we can, especially when we have extra funds and resources,” Dobson said.

While a good portion of SRP’s energy production and use comes from natural gas and other fossil fuels, Dobson said the goal is to have between 30% and 60% supplied from renewable sources by 2032

Both SRP and Arizona Public Service Co., the state’s largest electric utility, aim to be carbon neutral by 2050. That means both will be using a combination of renewable energy sources, likely with nuclear power from Palo Verde Generating Station, combined with potential carbon offsets.

APS, which operates Palo Verde as a part owner of the power plant about 50 miles west of Phoenix, recently submitted potential license renewals for the plant that would allow its operation until 2067.

SRP, which owns a portion of Palo Verde along with APS and five other utilities, gets nearly 18% of its energy from the plant. About 23% comes from coal, and another 45% comes from natural gas. The utility gets about 10.3% of its electricity production from renewable sources that include hydro, solar and geothermal.

APS is more advanced on what it calls “clean energy,” which includes nuclear. The utility has about 54% of its current power mix being from carbon-free sources — nuclear, wind and solar primarily — along with a large portion of natural gas.

Challenges with storage and distribution have pushed more interest in nuclear. Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego and Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch introduced the Accelerating Reliable Capacity Act in February to fund the investments of more nuclear reactors across the country. 

“Nuclear energy is key to increasing baseload energy cleanly and reliably,” Gallego said in a statement when the bill was introduced.

The bill has not made it past the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Both APS and SRP have rolled out storage projects to have renewable energy available more often. Carbon capture, or battery storage, captures the carbon dioxide released from fossil fuel emissions before they reach the atmosphere and uses the waste as power. It can also hold solar energy that is captured to use when the sun is not shining.

“We can only go as fast as we can because renewable energy relies on a lot of weather events, but I’m really excited about all of the things that we’re doing and where we’re going,” Dobson said.

 To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Madeline Bates
Reporter | Tempe/East Phoenix

mbates@iniusa.org

Meet Madeline

Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).  

Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.

Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.

Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.

Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.