Planning for a Sustainable Future with an Electric Utility
Public utilities are under considerable pressure to respond to public demand for carbon reductions but lack the mechanisms to evaluate resource portfolio decisions objectively. CLIMAS researchers worked with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to examine different combinations of energy sources (like solar, wind, natural gas, and coal) that the utility company could use to generate electricity. They then analyzed carbon reduction strategies for the utility's resource portfolio. Together, the team assessed the implications that different portfolio decisions might have on carbon emissions, climate change, and air quality.
By using the project's tools and data, TEP was able to evaluate different energy scenarios and understand the impact of their choices on emissions and warming. This project helped to inform the utility's decision to phase-out coal-fired power and transition towards cleaner energy sources.
"The most significant outcome is the closure of coal plants, which have an ecological impact locally and globally. And while the ecological effects are really nuanced, these closures will also have a huge social impact up at Springerville and Eagar and Holbrook, where these coal plants are located. All these things stem from our decisions which stem in part from the work that CLIMAS did."
- Lee Alter, Tucson Electric Power
CLIMAS Lead: Ben McMahan
Research Team: Andrea Gerlak, William Holmgren
Partners: Tucson Electric Power
Publications
McMahan, B., Holmgren, W., & Gerlak, A. (2020). Climate and TEP Resource Portfolios – Emissions Reduction and Cumulative Carbon Budgets. Appendix to the Tucson Electric Power 2020 Integrated Resource Plan. Tucson Electric Power. https://docs.tep.com/wp-content/uploads/TEP-2020-Integrated-Resource-Plan-Lo-Res.pdf
Knudson, C., Gerlak, A. K., & McMahan, B. (2019). Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goal Planning Report Prepared for Tucson Electric Power. Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona.
Media
New TEP plan ends coal use by 2032, ratchets up renewables use. 2020. Arizona Daily Star.
TEP’s 2035 energy plan and the role of UA’s Institute of the Environment. 2020. Daily Wildcat.
Tucson Electric Power gets an earful about how to cut greenhouse gases. 2019. Arizona Daily Star.