Regulators OK clean-energy plan to fully power UArizona

PHOENIX – The red and blue of the University of Arizona will be adding a lot of green in the coming years, after state utility regulators approved a clean energy agreement for the campus.

The Arizona Corporation Commission gave a thumbs-up to the deal between the university and hometown Tucson Electric Power at a meeting Tuesday. The project could have the school running on 100% emission-free power for 20 years, according to a press release.

The proposal would make the school the largest research university in the country with an initiative to offset greenhouse gas emissions, the press release said. The service was expected to begin late next year.

“We made a commitment to become a more sustainable campus, and now we have in place a system that will make a significant impact in just two years,” university President Robert C. Robbins said in a statement.

The electric company planned to devote parts of a pair of energy enterprises to provide the campus power. One was a solar-and-storage system south of the city and the other a wind farm in New Mexico.

“We’re proud to support the ambitious renewable energy goals of President Robbins and the University of Arizona, which are consistent with our own aspirations,” utility President and CEO David G. Hutchens said in a press release.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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