Victoria Steele: Voting yes on Prop 127 will help us build state’s clean-energy future

Across the country, the renewable-energy industry is experiencing a jobs boom as utilities and homeowners are taking advantage of low-cost renewable energy, but here in Arizona, where we have 300-plus days of sunshine each year, we only get 6 percent of our power from solar.

We still get more than half our electricity from fossil fuels like coal and fracked gas.

At a time when we should be building new in-state solar infrastructure, the Arizona Corporation Commission just issued a ruling allowing Tucson Electric Power to pay homeowners less for the power they generate using their own solar panels. Sunrun, one of the biggest solar developers in the country, says the increased costs “will make it impossible for Sunrun to continue selling solar in the Tucson area.”

Decisions like these are wrong for the future of Arizona’s clean-energy economy, and it means we will continue suffering from the fossil-fuel pollution that spoils our air and water and contributes to climate change.

Since we can’t count on our utilities or our state regulators to build our new clean-energy economy, we as voters need to take it upon ourselves and vote yes on Proposition 127.

Prop 127 will commit Arizona to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and independent solar generation on homeowners’ roofs will count toward the goal.

Many states and utilities are quickly closing dirty fossil-fuel plants and building new clean-energy infrastructure. This is more than achievable in Arizona, too, so we need to vote yes on Proposition 127 to protect our air and water, ensure a healthy future for our children, and show clean-energy companies that Arizona is open for business.