Published: March 30, 2021 |

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Pinnacle West Capital’s PNW unit Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), an owner and operator of the Four Corners Power Plant, announced an agreement with plant owners to commence seasonal operations starting the fall of 2023 at the Four Corners Power Plant.

This move will create environmental benefits, reduce operations and maintenance costs, and maintain the reliability of its services, primarily during Arizona’s extreme summer months. Under the agreement, one of the two units will operate only throughout the summer season (June-October) when demand is at peak while the other unit will supply energy throughout the year.

The company also announced plans to transfer its share of ownership to Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) in 2024. The other owners of the Four Corner Plants are Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), Salt River Project (SRP), and Tucson Electric Power (TEP).

Utility’s Sustainability Efforts

At present, the Four Corners Power Plant had trimmed its annual nitrogen oxide emissions by 88 percent post installing the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) equipment on Unit 4 and Unit 5 in 2018. This deal will decrease the annual carbon emissions by an estimated 20-25 percent from the current levels. Also, the unit proposed an investment of $144 million to support coal communities including the Navajo Nation.

Prior to this, the unit had issued two requests for proposals to accelerate generation of electricity via clean sources. This includes acquisition of renewable energy and addition of peaking capacity resources as well as installation of more battery energy storage at the two existing APS solar plants.

Pinnacle West continues to focus on enhancing its renewable capacity. Under the Integrated Resource Plan, the company expects to add 2,894 MW of clean energy to its portfolio. In the 2021-2023 time frame, the company will invest $1,112 million in increasing clean power generation.

The utility targets delivering 100 percent clean carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050, which includes a near-term goal of achieving a resource mix that is 65 percent clean energy by 2030, with 45 percent coming from renewable energy. The company is also committed to exit from coal-fired electricity generation by 2031.

Source: Nasdaq

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