Reminder- Arizona tax credit information is available here: Arizona Tax Incentives
Federal investment tax information, including end of year rules, is available here: Federal Tax Incentives
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The following items have been recently added or updated:
Energy vs. Agriculture in Italy
Electrification of transportation sector = More Renewable Energy Needed
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to provide 70% of its energy from solar and wind by 2035
Reminder- Arizona tax credit information is available here: Arizona Tax Incentives Federal investment tax information, including end of year rules, is available here: Federal Tax Incentives
Arizona Legislature
Call to Action - HB 2248 and SB 1175 would create massive regulatory uncertainty for businesses who wish to conduct business in Arizona. Call your representatives now.
Arizona Corporation Commission
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has posted STAFF'S THIRD REVISED PROPOSED DRAFT RULES (DOCKET no. RE-00000A-18-0284) That lay out a clearer framework for Electric Utilities to report their compliance with the proposed standards for the Renewable Energy Standard, Clean Peak Standard, Distributed Renewable Storage Requirement, and Electric Vehicle Infrastructure. See the ACC Staff Report: docket.images.azcc.gov/E000004960.pdf See also Materials Presented by the Joint Stakeholders at the Commission's March 2020 Energy Rules Workshop ACC Staff has made substantial changes to the draft rules that were filed on July 2, 2019 based on feedback received at each workshop held in this matter, comments to the docket, and a review of relevant energy policies across the United States. The Nature Conservancy has submitted their report "Arizona Thrives - A Path to a Healthy and Prosperous Future" to the ACC. Interesting. APS has submitted their report, The Solar Center has slightly reformatted this report by rotating the pages for easier viewing. APS has provided two presentations to address the ACC questions. Worth a read.
Arizona Corporation Commission-POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS TO THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION'S ENERGY RULES
Update July 30, 2020: When the Arizona utility regulators met to decide these issues they deadlocked over whether they should increase the state's requirements for renewable energy. It proved not possible to obtain the agreement of at least three commissioners, the meeting was adjourned. See the Arizona Republic article on this: Arizona utility regulators hit roadblock on clean-energy rules, abruptly end meeting. The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has released the Notice of Final Rulemaking Interconnection of Distributed Generation FacilitiesInterconnection of Distributed Generation Facilities document. With this rulemaking, the Commission adds a new Article 26, entitled " Interconnection. of Distributed Generation Facilities" to 14 A.A.C. 2, the Chapter containing the Commission's rules for fixed utilities, with the new Article 26 including 28 new rules. The rules for Interconnection of Distributed Generation Facilities ("DGI Rules") establish mandatory technical standards, processes, and timelines for utilities to use for· interconnection and parallel operation of different types of distributed generation ("DG") facilities; customer and utility rights and responsibilities; provisions for disconnection of DG facilities from the distribution system; specific safety requirements; more flexible standards for electric cooperatives; a reporting requirement; and a requirement for each utility to create, submit for initial approval and submit for approval periodically and when revised, and implement and comply with a Commission-approved Interconnection Manual. The first dozen pages are basically legal stuff. The document defines how an utility must review, then accept/reject/etc. an application to connect distributed generation to the utility. It defines both customer rights and utility procedures. There are a lot of utility, installer and customer comments along with the ACC staff recomendations.
Interconnection of Distributed Generation Facilities
This is a good report that provides a conceptual framework for the Statewide Transportation Electrification Plan for Arizona, including planned or proposed near-term utility actions to support the growth of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the state. The report is part of a filing on the Arizona Corporation Commission website: Arizona Statewide Transportation Electrification Plan
Arizona Statewide Transportation Electrification Plan
Municipality Info
The City of Phoenix is now (January 2020) requiring a special permit from the Fire Department for most solar systems and batteries. The fees and required plans varies with size and content. See this link for an application and details: https://www.phoenix.gov/firesite/Documents/Solar Photovoltaic OTC Bundle Rev 01-2020.pdf This is in addition to a building permit from the Planning & Development Department and must be separately obtained at a different address (150 South 12th Street) or on-line via the above link. Also noted is that residential PV permits are no longer over the counter and as of March 2020 are estimated to take 29 working days to process. Separate inspections are required. The code requirements are contained in Phoenix-Chapter 12 BESS R-3-1.pdf Also note: All Phoenix solar building permits are now electronic submittal only. Contact the Electronic Plan Review (EPR) Triage Team at 602-534-5933 or epr.support@phoenix.gov. For more information on EPR, visit us at https://www.phoenix.gov/pdd/onlineservices/electronic-plan-review. Related: PV Rapid Shutdown Signage- Phoenix .
Phoenix Fire Dept. now requires a separate permit for solar systems and batteries
At the Federal Level
New information coming soon
Utility Information
Update July 18, 2020 APS has posted a Final report on the McMicken Battery Energy Storage System Event Technical Analysis and Recommendations. See the full article: https://azsolarcenter.org/update-utility-solar-battery-fire-in-arizona
Update- Utility Solar Battery Fire in Arizona (Intro)
Arizona Public Service Co. has announced that it plans to produce all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 and will get 45% of its power from renewable sources like solar and wind by the end of this decade. This is a good improvement from the point of view of sustainable energy. There are still a lot of details to be worked out such as the role that distributed energy will take. Will APS APS improve its policies in regard to residential and small commercial systems. There are several good news articles and the APS press releases on this announcement: APS:APS sets course for 100 percent clean energy future Arizona Republic: APS will eliminate carbon emissions by 2050 and close coal plant ahead of schedule, CEO says The Washington Post: Arizona’s biggest utility says it will get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050
APS sets course for 100 percent clean energy future
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) plans to provide more than 70 percent of its power from wind and solar resources as part of a cleaner energy portfolio that will reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2035. TEP has filed its integrated resource plan (IRP) with the Arizona Corporation Commission, outlining plans for 2.5GW of new solar and wind over the next 15 years and 1.4GW of energy storage capacity as it progressively shutters its coal power stations. See the TEP Press Release for more information: https://www.tep.com/news/tep-plans-clean-energy-expansion-carbon-reduction/
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to provide 70% of its energy from solar and wind by 2035
TEP customers intending to install a new PV system now need to check that their system can be safely installed and connected to TEP’s grid. TEP now has service areas that are saturated with PV systems where new PV systems are subject to additional review and requirements under Arizona’s Distributed Generation Interconnection Rules. TEP has prepared DG Saturation Maps showing these areas. This further described at https://www.tep.com/get-started-with-solar/ This requirement stems from the recent Distributed Generation Interconnection Rules issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Further information is available at:Interconnection of Distributed Generation Facilities Update: See the related article on tucson.com: New state rules limit rooftop solar systems in some Tucson neighborhoods
TEP PV Saturation Maps
Interesting Technology Updates;
Battery Storage Costs Drop Dramatically, Making Way to a New Era. A recent Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) report continues to confirm that clean electrification through batteries is advancing at impressive rates. Very interesting report: Breakthrough Batteries- Powering the Era of Clean Electrification
Breakthrough Batteries Powering the Era of Clean Electrification
Other Announcements
Caution- News leads open in new windows. Warning- These news links are automatically generated by others such as Google News and are not reviewed by the Arizona Solar Center, Inc. We are not responsible for link content.
The City of Phoenix has issued further requirements on PV Rapid Shutdown Signage. The fire code (2018 INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE WITH PHOENIX AMENDMENTS) states exactly what these signs should say and exactly what they should look like. Installers must ensure that the following rapid shutdown signage is in place before requesting an fire inspection. Below is the code language and pictures of the signs.
1204.5 Buildings with rapid shutdown. Buildings with rapid shutdown solar photovoltaic systems shall have permanent labels in accordance with Sections 1204.5.1 through 1204.5.3.
1204.5.1 Rapid shutdown type. The type of solar photovoltaic system rapid shutdown shall be labeled with one of the following:
1. For solar photovoltaic systems that shut down the array and the conductors leaving the array, a label shall be provided. The first two lines of the label shall be uppercase characters with a minimum height of 3⁄8 inch (10 mm) in black on a yellow background. The remaining characters shall be uppercase with a minimum height of 3/16 inch (5 mm) in black on a white background. The label shall be in accordance with Figure 1204.5.1(1) and state the following:
SOLAR PV SYSTEM EQUIPPED WITH
RAPID SHUTDOWN. TURN RAPID
SHUTDOWN SWITCH TO THE “OFF”
POSITION TO SHUT DOWN PV SYSTEM
AND REDUCE SHOCK HAZARD IN ARRAY.
2. For photovoltaic systems that only shut down conductors leaving the array, a label shall be provided. The first two lines of the label shall be uppercase characters with a minimum height of 3/8 inch (10 mm) in white on a red background and the remaining characters shall be capitalized with a minimum height of 3/16 inch (5 mm) in black on a white back-ground.
THIS SOLAR PV SYSTEM EQUIPPED WITH
RAPID SHUTDOWN. TURN RAPID
SHUTDOWN SWITCH TO THE “OFF”
POSITION TO SHUT DOWN CONDUCTORS
OUTSIDE THE ARRAY. CONDUCTORS
WITHIN ARRAY REMAIN
ENERGIZED IN SUNLIGHT.
1204.5.1.1 Diagram. The labels in Section 1204.5.1 shall include a simple diagram of a building with a roof. Diagram sections in red signify sections of the solar photovoltaic system that are not shut down when the rapid shutdown switch is turned off.
1204.5.1.2 Location. The rapid shutdown label in Section 1204.5.1 shall be located not greater than 3 feet (914 mm) from the service disconnecting means to which the photovoltaic systems are connected, and shall indicate the location of all identified rapid shutdown switches if not at the same location.
1204.5.2 Buildings with more than one rapid shutdown type. Solar photovoltaic systems that contain rapid shutdown in accordance with both Items 1 and 2 of Section 1204.5.1 or solar photovoltaic systems where only portions of the systems on the building contain rapid shutdown, shall provide a detailed plan view diagram of the roof showing each different photovoltaic system and a dotted line around areas that remain energized after the rapid shutdown switch is operated.
1204.5.3 Rapid shutdown switch. A rapid shutdown switch shall have a label located not greater than 3 feet (914 mm) from the switch that states the following:
RAPID SHUTDOWN SWITCH
FOR SOLAR PV SYSTEM
Submitted by:
Brian Scholl
602-319-2297 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Deputy Fire Marshal
Fire Prevention
Phoenix Fire Department
Electric Utilities worldwide are experiencing problems with system management with large PV systems being added to their generation mix.
In Australia Nine more solar farms could have output cut to zero due to system strength issues
Earlier in Australia AEMO slashes output of five big solar farms by half due to voltage issues
The above articles reference additional similar problems.
In Arizona TEP has identified areas in there service territory that are already saturated with PV systems TEP PV Saturation Maps
If you have a photovoltaic (PV) system connected to APS and do not have other monitoring of the PV system such as that provided by most inverter manufacturers, it is not easy to determine the solar production that corresponds with the monthly electric bill. APS requires a solar production meter and this data is recorded and made available to the customer, but with a little difficulty. The following example is based on the now grandfathered 'Net Metering' (rate rider EPR-6) wherein any excess PV production, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) is used to offset energy delivered by APS. This method has been replaced by a system APS calls RCP, utility speak called 'Resource Comparison Proxy' (note that the APS website was developed by utility personnel using their view of the situation, not the customer view). The Solar Center intends to repeat the following procedure later with examples based on RCP.
Look at the recent example of an APS electric bill and see if you can determine the solar production:
The APS bills show only that 186 kWh in this case was net metered. The bill does not show the solar production that was directly used, to determine this one has to have an APS web account (free) and has to go online to learn more. There is a lot of data available. Note the 'Meter reading' dates above, this will be used later to calculate the solar production. Using a browser such as you are using to view this article, go to https://www.aps.com/
There is presently a Capcha screen to prove that a person and not an automated computer is accessing the website. Enter the requested data.
Enter your APS username/password then click login. If you do not already have a username and password, click on 'register'. The following is typical.
Next select 'daily and hourly usage'. Solar production is a subset of usage for some APS reason.
There are four types of data available and a calendar to select the dates to view. See the red instructions in the examples below. In APS jargon 'received usage' is solar production. This screen shows the solar production graphically, good for seeing relative production that depends on the sunshine and to a lesser extent the air temperature. Clicking on the 'Day' tab will expand that day, otherwise a month (or the current month to date) is displayed.
This view shows the pattern of the energy drawn from APS. Actual total usage at a specific time will be higher since PV system production will be used directly if there is enough usage at the specific instant.
Note that on each of the above examples, there is a down arrow next to the 'for service at' section and that clicking on this down arrow shows a second service, the PV production Meter with an '*'. The address is blurred in this example. Select the line with the *.
The production data is displayed in two formats, a bar graph for the month, and a graphical format for the week.
In order to get values for calculations, the monthly summary data needs to be downloaded as Excel files, usually for the two months that include the date range of the electric bill. With the 'daily energy useage' tab selected, select the first month of the range (click on any date), then click on the 'download meter data' text link over the calendar. This will download a file named 'Excel.xlsx' ( or Excel(y).xlsx where 'y' is a digit, added by your computer when 'Excel.xlsx' already exists). A spreadsheet program is needed to open and view these files, Excel for example. Select the 'daily energy usage' and 'delivered useage' tabs. The Excel data will look like this:
The values for the billing date range, July 25 to August 23 in this example, need to be added. This can be done with the spreadsheet program or manually. In this example the sum is 711.5 kWh. This is not straight forward since the values shown are actually text and Excel can not directly add them. Use the =value(cell) function in another column to convert the text to actual values. Now that the actual solar production is known, the below chart shows the relationship of these values.
The calculation of Home useage is (Solar Production) + (Purchased from APS) - (Sold or net metered to APS).
In 2015 SRP became anti-solar when it adopted special solar rates (E27) with some high demand charges, etc. SolarCity, later acquired by Tesla, challenged SRP’s discriminatory solar rates on antitrust grounds. SolarCity/Tesla took the case to the Supreme Court after a lower court rejected its request to dismiss the case. SRP reached a settlement with Tesla before the Supreme Court hearing, and the discriminatory fees were left in place. As part of the settlement SRP agreed to purchase a 25 megawatt/100 MW-hour battery energy storage system from Tesla. This meant that the basic reasons for the lawsuit, challenging the discriminatory rates, were not subject to court review and a chance to rule against SRP. The Center for Biological Diversity filed an Amicus brief against SRP’s motion to dismiss in order to have the Supreme Court consider the antitrust grounds.
The SRP rates have been proven to stifle rooftop solar, reducing new installations in SRP service areas while installations in other areas of Arizona increased. SolarCity claimed that SRP’s discriminatory solar rate structure is an obstacle to clean energy transition, because it undermines the value of homeowner investment in these systems. The solar rates were not examined by the courts, SRP basically claimed that it was exempt from regulation in this situation.
The Center for Biological Diversity is an Arizona-based non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the preservation, protection and restoration of biodiversity, ecosystems, and public health. On behalf of its more than 1.5 million members and online activists nationwide, including more than 890 members, and over 15,000 supporters, who live in SRP service territory, the Center advocates for a rapid transition to a clean and just energy system that optimizes renewable energy sources such as distributed solar in order to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and combat climate change.
The Center filed an Amicus brief to present three discrete arguments against SRP’s motion to dismiss. First, SRP should not be permitted to rely on state action immunity to shield its discriminatory rate structure from antitrust liability, and certainly not at the pleading stage. Second, state-action immunity for utilities like SRP should in any event be constrained to open the door for distributed solar competition. And finally, SRP is violating the Equal Protection clause because its anti-solar electricity rates have no rational basis.
Charles W. Thurston has a good article on this subject in CleanTechnica:Arizona’s Salt River Project Utility Challenged On High Rooftop Solar Rates