Arizona cities defend progress after slipping in clean energy ranking

WASHINGTON – Local officials pushed back last week against a new report that showed three Arizona cities slipping in a national ranking on clean-energy policies, saying the report does not appear to reflect their clean- and renewable-energy efforts.

The 2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard, released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, scores the 100 largest cities in the country in five categories ranging from local government to energy and water utilities.

Phoenix finished 19th…