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Creating investments for rural electrification: The Arizona Sustainable Growth Fund
In 2000, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) announced that it was going to add two new coal-fired units at its Springerville power plant. After reviewing the air quality permits, the Grand Canyon Trust filed a lawsuit blocking construction of the new units unless the pollution was significantly reduced. Because of this lawsuit, TEP agreed to reduce the plant’s pollution by 50 percent, even though it was doubling the size of the facility. TEP also agreed to provide $5 million over 5 years to fund projects that would help offset the increase in carbon dioxide from the new units.
The settlement stipulated that the funds would be provided when the first new unit began producing power and that the projects would be chosen by an advisory group consisting of two Grand Canyon Trust representatives, two from TEP, and one chosen by consensus vote. As a result, the Trust worked with representatives from the Salt River Project (SRP), TEP, and Arizona Department of Energy (ADE) to create the Arizona Sustainable Growth Fund.
In the first of several exciting projects, ADE granted 150 photovoltaic panels for distribution to rural tribal families, and the Arizona Sustainable Growth Fund has greed to provide $900,000 for engineering, installation, and service; providing up to $6,000 for a 1400-watt system for a qualified home. Some 150 tribal families now living without electric service will have facilities within the next 12 months.
A second project will focus on new and retrofitted public buildings on tribal lands. We also are putting together a program that will match up to 75 percent of hardware costs for tribal community facilities. Over the next year, the Trust will play a major role in coordinating and implementing this pilot rural electrification program.
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