SOLAR TODAY - March 2009

view from the states
Despite adverse economy,
Arizona Moves Toward the Sun

With supportive policies, solar gains momentum.

By DaN aieLLO

Dan Aiello (j2envarch
aol.com) is principal
architect at Janus II
Environmental Archi-
tects in Scottsdale and
past chair of the Ari-
zona Solar Energy Asso-
ciation (ASEA). Vivian
Harte, current chair
of ASEA, helped in pre-
paring this article.

Despite economic challenges, Arizona has begun to take advantage of its clear desert skies. Until recently, the state’s utilities had to import renewable energy, mainly from out-of-state wind farms. Now we might someday be a net exporter of solar power, sending electricity to California to help our neighbors meet their renewable power goals.

teMPe.Gov

construction and Business

The number of Arizona construction jobs fell 38 percent between 2006 and 2008. New housing permits fell 20 percent to their lowest level in 25 years. But green builders are holding up far better than standard builders. The demand for skilled solar installers and solar design expertise remains strong.

More than 30 percent of new construction in Scottsdale falls under the city’s voluntary Green Building program. More than 78 percent of new houses use some passive

solar design elements. Towns and counties across the state have begun to craft LEED or similar standards.

While solar stocks have been down as much as 60 percent since the credit crisis last fall, firms with a technological lead appear to have enough capital on hand to finance projects.

Solar installations appear to be maintaining a 30 to 40 percent growth rate. Tempe-based First

Solar recently completed, for Southern California Edison, the first stage of 250 megawatts of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) arrays planned for the region. The Scottsdale Hyatt hotel finished installation of a 166-panel water-heating system, producing 100,000 gallons (370,000 liters) of water per day.

tucson electric Power (teP) will expand its Springer-ville photovoltaic generating plant. the array began producing in 2001. Capacity is now 4. 6 megawatts, and the plant will expand to 8 megawatts.

up the state’s original environmental portfolio standard (EPS), which mandates 15 percent renewably sourced electricity by 2025, including 30 percent from rooftop installations. The commission issued its final approval for net-metering rules in October.

The Omnibus Energy Bill, sponsored last year by Rep. Lucy Mason, is again before the Republican-dominated state legislature. Its 55 provisions call for dramatic improvements in the energy efficiency of homes built in large developments, schools and state-owned buildings. It exempts residential solar power installations from property taxes and extends the 15 percent EPS to cover the state’s largest utility company, the Salt River Project (SRP), which serves 900,000 customers. SRP opposes the 30 percent carve-out for distributed energy, arguing that utility-scale installations are more cost-effective. Advocates argue that the distributed rule benefits homeowners, small businesses and a growing installer industry.

Representatives from the Arizona Solar Energy Association and the Arizona Solar Center, with assistance from Vote Solar, are working with Mason to help Coconino County, Tucson, Scottsdale, Phoenix and Pima County implement local environmental improvement districts on a voluntary opt-in basis. This will require a change in a state law. Bills are also being drafted to establish incentives for renewable energy manufacturing.

The Arizona Department of Commerce’s Energy Office manages without state funding. It depends chiefly on what’s left of the federal Oil Overcharge Restitution program, a fund established in 1986 to recoup price-goug-ing by oil companies after the original OPEC oil embargo of 1974. Despite its poverty, the energy office under Gov. Janet Napolitano evolved into a valuable resource, providing technical assistance for a wide variety of renewable energy projects, a tribal energy program, energy performance reviews for schools and state-owned buildings, training and certification programs and weatherization assistance.

State Government

The five-member Arizona Corporation Commission, which has oversight of five major utility companies, now has three pro-renewable members: Chair Kristin Mayes, Paul Newman and Sandra Kennedy. The commission set

cities and counties

Scottsdale requires all new municipal buildings to meet LEED gold standards. Recent projects under this rule include a new main fire station and the Granite Reef Senior Center, with more new buildings scheduled for completion in 2009.