PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s utility regulators have rejected new rules that would have drastically boosted the use of renewable energy for the second time in a year, drawing sharp reaction from clean energy advocates who said the decision leaves the state far behind what is needed to address climate change.The three Republicans on the five-member Arizona Corporation Commission joined to defeat the new standards, which were the result of months of hearings and negotiations and were backed by the state’s utilities, large and small businesses, environmental groups and even faith leaders.
The proposed rules would have required the state’s utilities to get 50% of their power from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide by 2035 and 100% by 2070. The regulations the commission declined to adopt last May mandated 100% clean power by 2050.
Also in the…