Arizona Republicans are targeting renewable energy with legislation that would criminalize new solar and wind farms unless developers clear additional regulatory hurdles.
HB 2267 would deem new utility-scale wind and solar projects within 4 miles of a home to be a public nuisance — a misdemeanor — unless they receive a certificate of environmental compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission as well as a subdivision of that regulatory body, the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee.
If a renewable energy project doesn’t meet those standards, the bill would force the state’s attorney general to “abate, enjoin and prevent” them — a de facto ban, critics say, that would remove prosecutorial discretion in order to restrict projects already subject to state and local review.
The GOP-majority Arizona House last week voted 31-23 along party lines to pass the bill to the Senate, where it’s pending.
