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What’s Really Green and What’s Really New
Ask Americans what the Green New Deal is all about, and you’ll get two basic answers. Most often you’ll hear, “It’s about moving to renewable energy in order to fight climate change.” You’ll also hear, from a camp further right, “It’s all about socialism!”
Wishing you a wonderful and Happy New Year!
The year 2017 has gone by quickly, and AriSEIA has accomplished a full and active agenda to further solar and renewable energy in Arizona.
Seeking Arizona agriculture producers who are using small solar systems in their operations in Arizona
Dr. Bonnie Eberhardt Bobb, Executive Director of the Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, is looking for agriculture producers who are using small solar systems in their operations in Arizona who might be willing to help her with preparing ACC testimony, discussion with representatives, writing letters of support, signing petitions, etc. to further their goal of increased renewables in agriculture. She would love to hear from ag producers and listen to their stories of how solar has benefited their operations. Thank you so much. Please contact drbonnie2002@yahoo.com if you can assist.
Arizona Corporation Commission
SRP approves rate decrease as directors argue about solar power and batteries. During March 2019, SRP wrapped up their public pricing process at a final rate setting board hearing.
The board approved new rates for SRP customers, which will translate to a $1 to $4 decrease in monthly bills.
The board also voted to lower rates for solar customers, approve three new options for solar customers, and adopt a new battery/storage incentive.
APS announces 2018 ended with 16,479 applications and 14,818 installations: Note: APS applications peak in August due to deadlines to freeze APS purchase rates for 10 years.
FRAUD ALERT PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a warning today about deceptive flyers appearing on residences in the Phoenix area that promote a solar energy effort. The flyers claim to be a “Public Notice” from the “Maricopa County Solar Initiative,” and claim that “Arizona and the Federal Government ITC (26 USC § 25D) are paying to have solar energy systems installed on qualified homes in this neighborhood.” The flyers tell consumers to call to schedule their “site audits.” Consumers who call are subjected to a solar sales pitch by a private company. In addition, the Maricopa County Solar Initiative’s website improperly uses a modified version of the county seal, but the “Solar Initiative” is linked to a private business and is not associated with the county. The “Solar Initiative” is also not registered to do business in Arizona. Similar flyers previously appeared in Clark County, Nevada, this summer, and law enforcement officials there have warned that the “Clark County Solar Initiative” notices are deceptive. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has aggressively prosecuted businesses masquerading as government agencies, including obtaining consent judgments against “Mandatory Poster Agency” and “Compliance Filings Service,” resulting in full restitution for Arizonans totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you believe you are a victim of consumer fraud, you can file a complaint online at the Arizona Attorney General’s website. You can also contact the Consumer Information and Complaints Unit in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, and outside of the metro areas at (800) 352-8431. Also covered at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2018/11/26/deceptive-flyers-circulate-arizona-promoting-solar-energy-effort/2115597002/
Attorney General Warns About Deceptive “Solar Initiative” Flyers
A picture of the “Public Notice” is below:
A picture of the improperly modified county seal used by the “Solar Initiative” is below:
Interesting Technology Updates;
This is an interesting approach to optaining very high penetration of renewables such as photovoltaics and wind. At present most large installations operate under Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) wherein the economics are based on a sell all output at predetermined prices. This contrasts with standalone systems wherein the system size is based on meeting the load requirements all year. This means that when output exceeds the load requirements, the output of the system is simply reduced and potential production lost. A radical idea to get a high-renewable electric grid: Build way more solar and wind than needed
A radical idea to get a high-renewable electric grid
A look at some of the more significant changes under consideration for the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) that will affect future distributed generation systems (solar electric wind, etc.). Article 690, Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems and Article 705, being renamed Interconnected Electric Power Production Sources, are specific to distributed generation. The referenced article below by IAEI, a membership driven, non-profit association promoting electrical safety, has a good summary of upcoming changes. https://iaeimagazine.org/magazine/2019/09/10/pv-installations-for-the-2020-nec/
Proposed changes impacting photovoltaic (PV) installations in the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC)
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 as adopted an Citywide Interpretation concerning New Solar PV Live Loads on Existing Building Roof Structures.
The sub-title is: Adding a new solar Photovoltaic (PV) panel system to an existing building's roof structure where the existing building is not undergoing a change of occupancy.
Basically an interpretation of the 2018 IEBC 303, 502.4, 503.3, 806.2 code. Designers of PV systems ahould review the Interpretation at:
https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/TRT/dsd_trt_pdf_00844.pdf
There is also Interpretation covering Solar Panel Connections:
https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/TRT/dsd_trt_pdf_00702.pdf
The retail giant is suing Tesla alleging breach of contract after fires on the roofs of at least seven stores.
Walmart has claimed in a lawsuit that Tesla-supplied solar panels on the roofs at several of its stores caught fire because of the tech company’s “widespread, systemic negligence” and its “failure to live up to industry standards.”
The retail giant is suing Tesla alleging breach of contract after fires on the roofs of at least seven Walmart stores with solar panels installed by Tesla’s solar business. These fires, which occurred at stores in several states from 2012 to 2018, cost Walmart hundreds of thousands of dollars, said the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a New York court.
To state the obvious, properly designed, installed, inspected, and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust, and the occurrence of multiple fires involving Tesla’s solar systems is but one unmistakable sign of negligence by Tesla,” the complaint said, according to CNN Business.
Walmart is seeking damages from Tesla and is demanding the company remove all of its solar panels from its stores. The retailer said that Tesla has installed panels on the roofs of more than 200 of its outlets.
Tesla has not responded to HuffPost’s after-hours request for comment.
The lawsuit comes just days after Tesla founder Elon Musk announced the relaunch of its solar rental business. The move, according to TechCrunch, appears to be an attempt by Tesla to revive the “flagging fortunes” of its renewable energy business, which has steadily been losing market share in recent years.
As Reuters noted, the Walmart lawsuit isn’t the only fire-related problem currently affecting Tesla.
The company is also being probed by the National Transportation Safety Board following several deadly accidents involving Tesla Model X and Model S cars that burst into flames.
From CNN
In recent years, Walmart (WMT) installed solar panels from Tesla Energy Operations on the more than 240 stores across the country. The two companies agreed that Walmart would lease or license its roof space to Tesla (TSLA) for the solar panels in exchange for lower energy costs, and Tesla would retain ownership of the panels and handle their maintenance, the filing states. It details fires at seven stores across the country, which Walmart contends all originated in Tesla solar panels and cost the retailer millions in repairs.
Elon Musk sets bold goals. But has he delivered?
"To state the obvious, properly designed, installed, inspected, and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust, and the occurrence of multiple fires involving Tesla's solar systems is but one unmistakable sign of negligence by Tesla," the complaint states.
Walmart alleges that as of November 2018, seven stores had experienced fires as a result of the solar panels, with the first occurring in 2012 in Long Beach, California.
One fire, in March 2018 at a store in Beavercreek, Ohio, caused a large amount of black smoke, forcing employees and customers in the Walmart and in nearby stores to evacuate, the filing states. Walmart said the fire destroyed "significant amounts" of store merchandise, requiring thousands of dollars in replacements as well as building repairs, and the store had to close for eight days.
Walmart says two other, similar fires occurred during that month, after which point it asked Tesla to disconnect the solar panels out of fear "for the safety of its customers, its employees and the general public."
Tesla complied, but another fire occurred even after the panels were disconnected, Walmart claims. The complaint also states that Tesla's own inspections of the solar panel systems installed on Walmart roofs identified some "unsafe or potentially unsafe" conditions."
Walmart said no one was seriously injured in any of the fires.
legal doc
87. Many of the Tesla solar panels inspected by Walmart were suffering from
hotspots, resulting in cracking of the back sheets on solar modules and compromising electrical
insulation. This condition compounded the danger and substantially heightened the risk of fire:
the hotspots reflected an excessive build-up of heat in the solar modules, which in turn wore
down the insulation that was designed to keep electrical currents flowing within their proper
paths and to separate electric conductors from their surrounding materials. These conditions can
readily lead to electrical fires capable of spreading across an entire rooftop.
Slash//
On Friday, Amazon.com Inc. said a June 2018 blaze on the roof of one of its warehouses in Redlands, California, involved a solar panel system that Tesla's SolarCity division had installed. The Seattle-based retail giant said by email that it has since taken steps to protect its facilities and has no plans to install more Tesla systems. Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but said earlier on Friday that it had discovered flaws in a part that the company had used in some of its systems. The part known as a "connector," manufactured by Amphenol Corp., led to "failures and disconnections at a higher rate than our standards allow," Tesla said in an emailed statement. The company has worked to replace it. 11 Amazon sites are generating energy and are monitored and maintained.
also a home problem
https://www.facebook.com/dave.burek/posts/10101061232214385
APS announces 2018 ended with 16,479 applications and 14,818 installations:
Note: APS applications peak in August due to deadlines to freeze APS purchase rates for 10 years.
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
Arizona Solar Center Mission- The mission of the Arizona Solar Center is to enhance the utilization of renewable energy, educate Arizona's residents on solar technology developments, support commerce and industry in the development of solar and other sustainable technologies and coordinate these efforts throughout the state of Arizona. About the Arizona Solar Center- The Arizona Solar Center (AzSC) provides a broad-based understanding of solar energy, especially as it pertains to Arizona. Registered… Read More
