Despite significant opposition, Salt River Project approves huge gas plant expansion

  [PHOENIX, AZ] – Today, the Board of Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona’s second-largest electric utility, approved a plan to spend nearly $1 billion to build 16 new gas units at its power plant in Coolidge, Arizona, despite significant opposition from clean energy supporters, consumer advocates, faith leaders, conservation groups, legislators, city officials, Coolidge residents, and six members of the SRP Board. This decision could lock in decades of new fossil-fuel use, all while Arizona sits in the bull’s eye of climate change. The decision came with limited notice, no stakeholder process, and the utility did not seek any competitive bids for providing the power.