Climate Change
Solar Growth Cushions Colorado River Hydropower Declines
Southwest utilities are diversifying their electricity assets.
In late May, as the outside temperature approached 100 degrees, Arizona’s top water policy officials gathered in an air-conditioned Phoenix conference room. Their purpose that day was to decide whether the state should extend a longstanding drought emergency declaration. The standard indicators – minimal precipitation, low reservoirs, the second-hottest 12-month period on record – were not encouraging.