Arizona Solar Center - Your Guide to Solar and Other Renewable Energy Sources in Arizona

It was only a matter of time before the underlying tension between solar companies and utilities erupted, and it’s a Goldwater who’s going to be leading some of the fight. Not the Goldwater Institute, mind you, that sued to have the state’s renewable energy standards and tariffs throw out in a move that would have slowed solar development to a crawl. Instead, Barry Goldwater Jr. is heading up a group called TUSK — Tell Utilities Solar won’t be Killed — that aims at pushing solar from a different perspective: a Republican one.

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HB2404 S/E building codes; energy efficiency (Carter) appeared on a Committee of the Whole calendar this week, but was retained. It prohibits local government from adopting more energy efficient building codes, which is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy use and save ratepayers money. Please continue to contact your senator.  The Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona is pushing hard to get this bill to undercut local control and more efficiency building codes.

Keep updated on news related to this bill...

Effective today at 5 p.m. the incentive for residential solar electric installations will drop to $0.30 per watt for an additional 3 megawatts of projects. This incentive level is available for solar installations that are retrofit or new home construction. Today, SRP has reached the 4 megawatt cap for the second tier ($0.40 per watt) of eligible residential solar electric installations in fiscal year 2013 (May 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013). We will honor the $0.40 per watt incentive level for all residential customers who have submitted complete and accurate applications through 5 p.m. today.

The Residential Solar Water Heating incentive remains unchanged at $0.40/kWh.

Please note that a complete application package includes those items listed in Step 1 of our Process Checklist which can be found online at www.srpnet.com/solarcontractor. Complete application packages can be submitted by 5 p.m. today using one of the following methods:

• E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Fax to (602) 629-7978
• Hand-deliver at 1521 North Project Drive in Tempe, Arizona - ATTN: SRP Residential Solar Electric Program, PAB355

***HOLD THE DATE - SRP WILL HOLD ITS SOLAR STAKEHOLDER MEETING ON THE AFTERNOON OF WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 FROM 3PM - 5PM AT SKYSONG IN SCOTTSDALE. INCENTIVE LEVELS AND PROGRAM CHANGES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014 (MAY 2013 - APRIL 2014) WILL BE DISCUSSED.

Sincerely,

SRP Residential Solar Energy Team

Salt River Project
Office: (602) 236-4661 | Fax: (602) 629-7978
Mail Station PAB355 | P.O. Box 52025 | Phoenix, AZ 85072-2025
www.srpnet.com/solarcontractor

A new organization has formed to ensure solar power remains viable in Arizona, helps business owners, homeowners and schools keep their energy costs low and provide more energy choices for taxpayers. T.U.S.K. - Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed - was formed to "show backing for the solar industry and to stave off attempts by Arizona Public Service to extinguish the independent rooftop solar energy market in Arizona," according to a statement.

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T.U.S.K. website: www.dontkillsolar.com

(originally published March 15, 2013)
The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA), Arizona's premier solar energy industry trade organization, announced today that it has hired Milton M. "Mike" Masson as its Interim Executive Director effective immediately. "Mike's is the perfect person to help lead AriSEIA into the future. It is not every day that someone with Mike's incredible experience agrees to take on such a role" said AriSEIA Board President Mark Holohan.

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"The hypocrisy is Republican policymakers wax eloquently about the evils of subsidizing solar energy but shrink from criticism when confronted about massively subsidizing corporate monopolies like APS. It's time for Republicans to be intellectually consistent and reject corporate welfare policies altogether."

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Several legislative issues related to solar energy and conservation are currently before the Arizona Legislature.
See a summary for March 22nd on the Arizona Sierra Club website.

Solar advocates in Arizona are celebrating a victory -- Republican Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) veteran Gary Pierce has withdrawn his proposal to alter the state's Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) and reduce the 15 percent renewables by 2025 requirement on Arizona's investor-owned utilities.

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While news on the solar front could be better for the "greens" in Arizona, green building is still a big hit. Phoenix landed at No. 9 on the list of having the most Energy Star-certified buildings compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Arizona was one of the leaders in clean energy job growth last year, ranking No. 6 on a new report that looked at energy and transportation projects. The report released by the Washington-based Environmental Entrepreneurs group, found that Arizona announced 4,082 renewable and clean energy jobs in 2012 from 14 projects in the state.

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As part of a global cause to bolster solar power technologies, Arizona State University researchers are taking part in three new solar energy projects funded by the Australian and U.S. governments. The investment for these projects includes $68 million for two, eight-year research programs and $15.5 million for 11 collaborative projects.

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One of ASU President Michael M. Crow's goals for ASU for 2013 and beyond is to "undertake applied sustainability research that impacts the social, environmental and economic evolution of the Southwest." Perhaps nowhere on any ASU campus is that goal more fervently pursued than in the labs and minds of LightWorks, ASU's initiative for creating light-inspired solutions for the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.

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See calendar for lecture information.

The Arizona Corporation Commission is mulling the best way to avoid sticking electric customers with the bill for the state's renewable energy standards. "We have got to address the climbing cost of the surcharge," said ACC Commissioner Gary Pierce. The commission passed the Arizona Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff in 2005. The law requires all electricity providers to get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025.

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Solar is popular in Arizona, and a new survey shows that opinion isn’t waning. The annual Conservation in the West Poll, done by the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project, found that 62 percent of Arizonans would choose solar power as their first choice of energy, with natural gas a distant second at 9 percent.

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From: APS Renewable Energy < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >
Sent: Fri, Feb 8, 2013
Subject: APS Renewable Energy Update: 2013 Program Information and Schools & Government Funding

The UA is the No. 1 university in the U.S. and ranks second in the world for environmental science research, according to a study analyzing citation data from more than 180 journals. Environmental research at the UA involves many international collaborations and the results directly inform management practices in pressing areas such as land use, water and food security and energy.

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The last few days have seen tremendous reaction from citizens of Arizona in support of Arizona's robust solar energy industry. This reaction has prompted media coverage regarding responses to the recent action of the Arizona Corporation Commission that resulted in the elimination of policies that were in place to support the State's commercial solar industry.

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The Arizona Corporation Commission will discuss allowing a plan that could allow less solar and renewable power to be deployed, and solar and environmental advocates are not happy about it. A proposed amendment that didn’t get included in Arizona Public Service Co.’s renewable energy standards plan is coming up for discussion on Wednesday.

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The Arizona Corporation Commission approved a plan this week to allow Arizona Public Service Co. to move toward meeting its renewable energy standards in 2013, although it doesn't include incentives for large commercial sites. The commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve the plan, which APS is required to submit annually to measure how the utility is progressing toward state requirements of getting 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.

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State regulators on Wednesday approved an annual renewable-energy plan for Tucson Electric Power Co. that further slashes incentives for residential rooftop solar installations and for now eliminates incentives for commercial renewable-energy installations. Residential TEP customers who install solar photovoltaic systems will be eligible for incentives of 10 cents per watt, down from incentives last year that stepped down from 75 cents to 10 cents per watt as funding was drawn down.

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