Arizona Solar Center

Welcome to the Arizona Solar Center

This is a non-commercial website for solar and renewable energy information in Arizona.

Here you can:

Learn about Photovoltaic (PV) power

Considerations in sizing a PV system in Arizona

Learn about Solar and Environmental issues

Living with the Sun - Arizona Style

Living with the Sun in the Desert- Blog

Other Renewable Energy Sources

New Discovery Could Improve Organic Solar Cell Performance

While there is a growing market for organic solar cells – they contain materials that are cheaper, more abundant, and more environmentally friendly than those used in typical solar panels – they also tend to be less efficient in converting sunlight to electricity than conventional solar cells. Now, scientists who are members of the Center for Computational Study of Excited-State Phenomena in… Read More
Know Your Rights

Arizona law protects individual homeowners’ private property rights to solar access by dissolving any local covenant, restriction or condition attached to a property deed that restricts the use of solar energy. This law sustained a legal challenge in 2000. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of homeowners in a lawsuit filed by their homeowners association seeking to… Read More
Home Battery Systems

Rooftop solar panels are common in Arizona thanks to abundant sunshine, but to get even more use from the technology, homeowners are beginning to pair them with large home batteries. Batteries allow homeowners to store their surplus electricity, rather than send it to the grid in exchange for credit from their electric company. Read More
Solar Hot Water

There are two types of solar water heating systems: active, which have circulating pumps and controls, and passive, which don't. The typical solar water heater is comprised of solar collectors and a well-insulated storage tank. The solar collector is a network of pipes that gathers the sun's energy, transforms its radiation into heat, and then transfers that heat to either… Read More
Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit

(Information provided by DSIRE - Last reviewed 02/19/2009) Incentive Type: Personal Tax Credit State: Federal Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Other Solar Electric Technologies Applicable Sectors: Residential Amount: 30% Maximum Incentive: Solar-electric systems placed in service before 2009: $2,000Solar-electric systems placed in service after 2008: no maximumSolar water heaters placed in service before… Read More
Solar Building Design in Arizona

The idea of using the sun to meet the energy needs in our buildings has been with us since the time of the Greeks, with some of the design manifestations even evident in the prehistoric structures of Arizona and the Southwest. There is a great historic tradition for Arizona buildings that utilize our most abundant resource, and the current increases… Read More
How Not to- Battery Connections

Photo shows the situation after a battery discharge test at 300 amps was terminated on a 1530 AH IBE battery string when one post melted. During the discharge test all cell voltages are logged. The sum of the cell voltages was 2.73 volts lower than the 48-volt string voltage. This is an average of 118 mv per inter-cell connection, 5-10… Read More

1 New Discovery Could Improve Organic Solar Cell Performance
2 Know Your Rights
3 Home Battery Systems
4 Solar Hot Water
5 Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit
6 Solar Building Design in Arizona
7 How Not to- Battery Connections

Blogs

Solar Center Blog

Brian Czech

17 February 2019

The Green New Deal:

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!”

Lucy Mason

06 January 2018

Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA)- 2018 Update

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.

View all entries

Featured

Some things to pay attention to in Arizona

Reminder- Arizona tax credit information is available here: Arizona Tax Incentives

The Arizona Corporation Commission has posted a PROPOSED RULEMAKING REGARDING INTERCONNECTION OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILITIES.

Proposed new rules covering connecting to the utility power grids in Arizona has been posted and a notice by the Hearing Division to hold oral proceedings to receive public comment on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on March 28. 2019. at 10:00 am. or as soon as practicable thereafter. in Room 722 at the Commissions offices in Tucson. Arizona and on March 29, 2019. at 10:00 a.m. or as soon as practicable thereafter, in Hearing Room No. I at the Commissions offices in Phoenix. Arizona.

A somewhat complex NOTICE can be downloaded at http://docket.images.azcc.gov/0000195373.pdf

UPDATE 1-24-19: ACC approved new draft interconnection rules At their Jan. 16 meeting, Commissioners preliminarily approved a set of rules that could help link renewables and batteries to the grid, making it easier for customers across the state to utilize.

There is a good description of these new rules and their significance at: https://tinyurl.com/ya24baws

SRP approves rate decrease as directors argue about solar power and batteries.

Last week, 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.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2019/03/25/salt-river-project-decreases-rates-customers-but-solar-debate-rages/3245669002/.

APS announces 2018 ended with 16,479 applications and 14,818 installations:

APS 2018 PV

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.

A picture of the “Public Notice” is below:

A picture of the improperly modified county seal used by the “Solar Initiative” is below:

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.

Source:https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mark-brnovich-warns-about-deceptive-solar-initiative-flyers

Also covered at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2018/11/26/deceptive-flyers-circulate-arizona-promoting-solar-energy-effort/2115597002/

Upcoming:

Events

General News

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.

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Arizona's Renewable Energy Future (Click on white text)

Interesting Videos

Opinion: The tipping point for renewable energy is nearly here

Renewable power is taking off around the world and fast approaching a tipping point in its development. Consider these recent developments:

Recent solar-power capacity auctions have come in at record low levels, underscoring how quickly the costs of renewable energy are falling: $0.053/kwh in India, $0.035/kwh in Mexico, $0.024/kwh in Abu Dhabi, $0.029/kwh in Chile, and $0.039/kwh in the United States.
The fastest-growing job category in the U.S. these days is that of wind-turbine service engineer with median pay around $51,050 a year.
And in January, China said it would shut 85 coal plants and instead invest $350 billion in renewable sources of energy.

Full article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-tipping-point-for-renewable-energy-is-nearly-here-2017-02-15

RMI-Financing Community Scale Solar

Community-scale solar has attracted particular interest in the rapidly growing renewables market across the United States. Whether driven by interest from distribution utilities and community groups, or via policies like virtual net metering enacted in individual states, the sector holds untapped potential for offering competitive distributed electricity generation to a broader array of customers than are currently being served. Still, many lenders and tax equity investors have difficulty understanding both the opportunities and the challenges this market presents, and some developers active in this sector have been slow to adequately address some of the concerns of potential financial partners. This dynamic has proven to be a barrier to financing community-scale solar projects, which, in turn, has inhibited broader consumer access to renewable energy. In this report, Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI’s) Shine community-scale solar program and Sustainable Finance practice area describe how established solar-financing models can be easily adapted to the community-scale solar market, and discuss key risks and mitigants, as a framework for financiers and project developers to use in order to rapidly grow this market.

Read the full report at http://blog.rmi.org/Content/Files/Financing_Community_Scale_Solar.pdf

Older Featured Articles

Interesting articles or past news:

Featured (older)

The White House Silences the DOE Solar Energy Team on Twitter

SunShot has been shut out.

Solar Energy
January 27, 2017

Asocial media blackout has struck at another U.S. government department. On Thursday, it emerged that an internal email to the Department of Energy’s SunShot solar program is telling employees to not post anything to Twitter or Facebook about work “until further notice.” The note, sent to the 50 staff members working on the project, relayed an order given by Steven Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy.

The email, published by ThinkProgress, reads:

I want to share that we are PROHIBITED from any social media post (from personal or business handles) regarding your work, attendance at any meeting, etc until further notice, per Steve Chalk, acting EE-1.

See full article at: https://www.inverse.com/article/27020-sunshot-solar-energy-twitter-silenced

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About

Welcome to the Arizona Solar Center

This is your source for solar and renewable energy information in Arizona. Explore various technologies, including photovoltaics, solar water heating, solar architecture, solar cooking and wind power. Keep up to date on the latest industry news. Follow relevant lectures, expositions and tours. Whether you are a homeowner looking to become more energy efficient, a student learning the science behind the technologies or an industry professional, you will find valuable information here.
About The Arizona Solar Center

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