AZFEC’s Solar Shift: A Costly Gamble for Ratepayers as Coal Energy from Cholla Fades

By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |

Earlier this year, President Trump signed three executive orders designed to maintain operational coal power plants across the nation. At the signing, he specifically mentioned Arizona’s Cholla Power Plant, instructing Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright to ensure its continued operation. Trump reassured the workforce that the plant would soon be “opening and burning…coal in a very short period of time.”

Cholla is one of several coal plants in Arizona facing potential closure. In 2019, the Navajo Generating Station, which provided 2,250 MW of dependable energy, was shut down by Salt River Project (SRP) and other utilities. This year, Cholla lost an additional 425 MW of capacity. According to recently approved Integrated Resource Plans by the Arizona Corporation Commission, the state’s public utilities intend to eliminate all coal generation by 2032. Alarmingly, this transition aims to replace reliable coal energy with solar, wind, and battery storage to achieve carbon-free “Net Zero” objectives, a shift that could cost ratepayers billions and destabilize the grid.

Coinciding with Trump’s executive orders, the Arizona legislature, led by Representative David Marshall, sent a letter to the Department of the Interior advocating for the continued operation of Cholla and other coal plants in the state. Just last month, the legislature’s Republicans unanimously passed HCM2014, urging the Corporation Commission to support grid safety and uphold the Trump Energy Agenda.

In stark contrast to these efforts, Kevin Thompson, Chairman of the Corporation Commission, recently dismissed the proposal to reopen Cholla in a late Friday afternoon statement.