By Will Stone, for AZPM
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Right now, Arizona has more than a dozen large-scale solar and wind projects in the works.
“I would call shovel-ready projects," said John Shepard with the Sonoran Institute. "They could be up and running generating power to meet the interim deadline of the Clean Power Plan Rule."
That interim deadline is 2022 and the final one is 2030. By then, Arizona could beef up its clean energy resources enough to power more than half a million homes, according to the study from Shepard’s organization in collaboration with Arizona State University.
Regardless of the controversy over the federal rule, Shepard said current trends are already driving this transition to more renewable energy.
“Arizona can still take advantage beyond what the Clean Power Rule requires,” said Shepard.
One hold up, he said, is utility companies need more incentives to buy this energy in order to push these major projects past the planning stage.
*The Arizona Science Desk is a collaboration of public broadcasting entities in the state, including Arizona Public Media.
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