By Ian Dowdy, director of the Sonoran Institute’s Sun Corridor program
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
Much discussion has occurred since the presidential election about the future of the Clean Power Plan — President Obama’s signature effort to move energy generation toward cleaner and more sustainable sources. It has been assumed that under a future President Trump, much of this strategy — though it is currently tied up in the courts — will be gutted in favor of supporting the coal and fossil fuel industries across the nation.
To be clear, at Sonoran Institute we are supportive of the CPP and feel it presents a reasonable approach to encouraging states to be more responsible in their choices of energy generation. It is worth noting, however, that even prior to this action by the EPA, Arizona was moving in this direction.
