Arizona leads the solar revolution

Opinion
rebates offered

Arizona leads the solar revolution

Electric utilities must generate 15% of their energy from nonfossil sources

Opinion by Kris Mayes
SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.14.2007

Businesses throughout Arizona will install solar panels on their rooftops, becoming part of a revolution in the way Arizona produces energy.
Recently, the Arizona Corporation Commission passed the Renewable Energy Standard (RES), which requires that the state's electric utilities — including Tucson Electric Power — generate at least 15 percent of their energy from sources such as the sun, wind, biomass or geothermal.
Under the Renewable Energy Standard, 30 percent of the renewable energy obtained by the utilities must be from distributed sources of electric generation, which will come primarily from rooftop solar systems or small wind turbines.
In fact, in order to meet the RES' distributed generation requirement, utilities will be asked to help homeowners install more than 3,000 solar rooftops next year, increasing to 4,200 in 2009, 5,500 in 2010, 9,100 in 2011 and almost 12,000 by 2012. Currently, utilities are only installing a few hundred solar rooftops per year.
According to the national Vote Solar Initiative, Arizona will soon march to the head of the solar class. On a per capita basis, there will be more solar rooftops here than anywhere else in the nation, once the Renewable Energy Standard is fully implemented.
Curbing emissions, saving water
The RES will also give Arizona its best chance to prevent greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy.
By the year 2020, renewable energy projects stemming from the Renewable Energy Standard will avoid the emission of 8 million tons of carbon dioxide and 11,000 tons of nitrogen oxide — the rough equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road. And the proliferation of solar will conserve 23 billion gallons of water over the next 15 years.
Customers of any electric utility can take part in the effort to advance solar energy by calling their utility and asking for information about the utility's solar rebate, which is approved by the Corporation Commission and is designed to meet the RES.
Homeowners installing a 3-kilowatt system will receive a $9,000 rebate from their electric utility, and can also take advantage of federal and state tax credits totaling $3,000, significantly decreasing their out-of-pocket costs. Over time, homeowners who install solar see their utility bills slashed, and eventually, the systems pay for themselves. Cost of solar is declining
Arizona's effort to move toward more sustainable sources of energy doesn't come without a cost.
Each Arizona ratepayer currently pays 35 cents per month to support renewable energy projects, including solar rooftops, an amount that will soon rise to $1.05. One recent poll showed that an overwhelming 87 percent of the state's residents are willing to pay a small amount more if it means breaking our utilities' addiction to fossil fuels and making America less dependent on other countries for energy.
While it is true that today, solar is more expensive than traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas, the cost of solar is declining, in large part due to state efforts like the Renewable Energy Standard. Industry analysts are already predicting that the price of solar energy will be competitive with traditional forms of power by the year 2014, something that would not happen absent state efforts to spur a marketplace in renewable energy.
Still, more can be done to foster a culture of clean energy in Arizona. We must begin to find ways to encourage home builders and developers to incorporate solar into new homes and commercial buildings, as they are being built.
Some boutique builders are starting to incorporate solar into new home designs, but for the most part, mass-market home builders haven't followed suit. In Tucson, homes in Armory Park del Sol come equipped with solar energy, providing an excellent example of what can be done.
Additionally, the federal government should extend existing tax credits for solar energy and the Arizona Legislature should implement a production tax credit for large-scale solar and wind projects.
At the Arizona Corporation Commission, we are working to craft a statewide net metering policy that will allow homeowners to sell excess power from their rooftop solar systems back to the utilities at full retail prices, further enhancing their affordability.
For now, though, Arizona homeowners are busy making Arizona the solar state, one rooftop at a time.
Did you know
In addition to the legislative, executive and judicial branches, Arizona's Corporation Commission functions as a fourth branch of government, regulating utility service. The commission regulates public utilities, railroads and gas pipelines, and oversees the formation of corporations in the state.
Only seven states have constitutionally formed commissions, and Arizona is one of 13 states where commissioners are elected, not appointed, to the post.
The commission's role as defined by the Arizona Constitution is executive and legislative in that it adopts rules and regulations and judicial in that it sits as a tribunal and makes decisions in contested matters.
The Arizona Constitution requires the commission to be based in Phoenix and hold monthly meetings.
Solar rebate in Tucson
For information about Tucson Electric Power's SunShare program, the utility's solar rebate, go online to www.greenwatts.com/pages/sunshare.html or call 745-3100. Questions can also be e-mailed to SunShare@TEP.com .
Sources: Star archives and the Arizona Corporation Commission Web site www.cc.state.az.us
Find out more about the Arizona Corporation Commission and contact Kris Mayes at Web site www.cc.state.az.us/