Arizona Solar Center Blog

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has revealed plans for a new and possibly game-changing program for encouraging the domestic development of solar companies. Following the introduction in February of the SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the costs of solar power by 75% by the end of the decade, the DOE has now developed SUNPATH.

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Sent: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 9:13 am
Subject: SRP Solar Incentive Stakeholder Meeting Presentation

Arizona ranked third in terms of solar installations during the first quarter, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association. Arizona trailed California and New Jersey after a reported 22 megawatts of power production were installed on residential and commercial buildings.

A bright white lightbulb lit the small, dirt-floored hogan. It nearly matched the intensity of the smile on Paula Curtis' face. Visitors dropped in to admire her home, newly equipped with solar power. A shed-size utility building next to her traditional Navajo dwelling promised to change life dramatically for Curtis and her three children, who live on the reservation about an hour northeast of Flagstaff.

In a shift that reflects broader developments across Japan - the Nippon Paper plant will change the way it gets its power. Oil furnaces that provided much of its electricity before the tsunami will be mothballed in favour of cleaner-burning biomass generators.

Solar energy will not burden Arizona's water resources in the foreseeable future, according to research presented by University of Arizona experts. Three researchers discussed solar energy and its effects on local water resources last week at the Yuma Agricultural Center Auditorium.

Solar energy remains one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy as its photovoltaics produced 66% more power in the first quarter of this year than during the same time last year, the industry reports Thursday.

Climate, solar and water experts from the University of Arizona said Tuesday night that satisfying the state's renewable-energy mandates by 2025 will require large-scale systems - and won't drain Arizona's future water supplies along the Colorado River.

SOLON Corporation, one of the largest providers of turnkey solar power plants and manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar modules in the U.S., today announced an agreement with UniSource Energy Services (UES) that will bring a 1.22 megawatt (MW) solar system to Kingman, Arizona.

Chandler became the first city in Arizona to recognize solar energy systems in its municipal zoning code when it recently adopted a new ordinance that establishes separate, more flexible building standards for the installation of residential, commercial and industrial solar systems.

The Advanced Energy Storage and Utilization and System (AESUS) will allow solar power and wind energy producers to store energy during peak production and release it during peak consumption. W2 Energy, Inc. announces that the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (azrise.org) at the University of Arizona has prepared its laboratory to test the AESUS.

US solar power will compete on price with conventional generation within three years without subsidy thanks to plummeting costs, industry leaders say. In a breakthrough for renewable generation that will lessen the dependence on fossil fuels, the cost of solar power in California is near that of gas-fired plants at times of peak demand.

Scientists in the US and the UK have been awarded funding totalling more than $10.3 m to improve understanding of the process of biological photosynthesis. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) collaborated in issuing these jointly funded awards.

An interesting new solar project is now under way at Arizona Western College (AWC) located in Yuma, AZ. The project involves five different types of solar power generation technology, each provided by a different manufacturer and each designed to provide 1 megawatt of solar generated electricity.

A Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing low-cost, renewable biofuels from bacteria. The team has reprogrammed photosynthetic microbes to make conversion to biofuels potentially more commercially viable.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council has been making its pitch for solar industries far and wide, and the latest battleground may be Italy. Rudy Vetter, GPEC's senior vice president for international business development, was in Verona in early May speaking at SolarExpo Italy, a gathering of that country's solar industry players.

As the U.S. solar market continues to reach new heights, both photovoltaics and concentrating solar power (CSP) will be required in order for the industry to achieve future goals. Given the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each of these technologies, diversification within a single company is becoming an increasingly popular strategy.

Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years because of innovations, said Mark M. Little, the global research director for General Electric Co.

Valley utilities have cut the incentives they're offering customers to install solar systems this year, prompting a dropoff in demand for such installations. Arizona Public Service Co. and Salt River Project officials say demand still is there, but not at the same frenetic pace seen during the height of the solar boom two years ago.

Yavapai County project also includes potential for solar PV generation