Arizona Solar Center Blog

In the Spring of 1987, Ray Harm sat on the veranda of his solar-powered ranch house on the edge of arroyo in Browns Canyon -- explaining climate change to me.

Four years ago, I wrote an article for a national magazine on what to make of the 2010 mid-term elections and its implications for energy policy.

Earlier this summer the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed rules for Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. This is the rule that deals with reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants by 2030. The proposed rule was shaped by public input and builds upon existing priorities, activities, and efforts in states throughout the country.

George P. Shultz served as U.S. Secretary of State, Treasury and Labor under two GOP Presidents. Today, Shultz is co-chair of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution task force on energy policy.

1931

The Great Depression witnessed the highest unemployment rate this country has ever known. A quarter of the American workforce was jobless at its height in 1932. The next year, the newly-elected President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, signed into law legislation that put the country on the road to recovery.

Arizona is about to begin an important discussion on the cost benefits of solar energy. The discussion is scheduled for May 7 as part of a series of workshops the Arizona Corporation Commission has scheduled to examine the impacts of innovation on the utility business model.