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In one of the US's hottest deserts, utilities push gas rather than solar

In Fort Mohave, Arizona, even Republican voters are fighting gas power plants as utilities try to lock in fossil fuels

Over the next few months, the Sunrise Hills retirees – among them many climate crisis skeptics and committed fossil fuel proponents – uncovered a trail of misinformation that appear to suggest MEC and Aepco, which is developing and will own and operate the gas combustion turbines, were at times opaque as they sought to fast-track approval and circumvent closer scrutiny. It turned out that with a capacity of 98 megawatts, the two-turbine proposal fell just under the 100MW limit that requires a state-mandated comprehensive environmental review of impacts such as emissions, noise and water consumption by an expert committee at the state utility regulator, the Arizona corporation commission (ACC). And while the Mohave gas-fired peaker may be cleaner than coal or diesel plants, gas remains much more harmful to air quality and the climate than renewable energy options – which thanks to recent scientific advances are now, in many cases, as or more cost-efficient and reliable (with battery storage and grid connectivity) than fossil fuel-based sources.

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