Battle of the States Begins: Arizona Wants Solar Business

July 17th, 2009 by Jennifer Kho

Arizona wants to be the “solar-energy hub of the world,” Kristin Mays, chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in the state, said at the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco this week.

The state last week enacted a law that offers new incentives, including a tax credit of up to 10 percent, for solar companies that set up shop there.

At the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco this week, some state rivalry became apparent as Arizona leaders argued the state’s advantages compared to California. “We know the Mojave desert’s off limits. Well, the desert in Arizona is open for business,” said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, to laughter from the audience.

Mays added that Arizona has no net-metering cap. That’s been a sore issue in California, which restricts net metering – an arrangement in which ratepayers can feed solar electricity back into the grid, only paying for the net amount of electricity that they use in a month – to 2.5 percent. Solar advocates say that installations will stop, if the cap isn’t lifted, as one utility, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., is expected to reach the net-metering cap next year.

Arizona was also the first U.S. state to establish a solar energy standard, which calls for the state to get 15 percent of its electricity from solar power by 2025, and the commission expects to look at raising that goal, Mays said. In addition, the state is working to build more transmission, not just into Phoenix, but also into Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to distribute electricity where it’s needed, she said.

“We’re going to see California and Arizona almost become a combined market,” Broome said. Arizona hopes to attract solar companies, factories and projects so that it can supply that market. Meanwhile, other states also are making solar plays. Oregon and Washington are considering proposals for feed-in tariffs, for example.

Image courtesy of Brian Auer via a Flickr Creative Commons license.

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Tags: Arizona, California, incentives, Oregon, property taxes, tax credit, Transmission, Washington

About the Author

Jennifer Kho -- With more than nine years of reporting experience, Jennifer Kho has been covering green technology since 2004, when she started the cleantech beat at Red Herring magazine. She wrote for Red Herring until 2007, when she helped launch the Greentech Media site as its founding editor. She left Greentech Media in November. Her stories have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and TheStreet.com. She also regularly contributes to Earth2Tech.

http://www.thephoenixsun.com Osha Gray Davidson

We just ran an article on the latest Stirling SunCatcher. It uses no water for cooling, just to wash the mirrors and has the highest efficiency of any solar power generator. First scale demonstration project begins in September — in Arizona.
http://www.thephoenixsun.com Osha Gray Davidson

We just ran an article on the latest Stirling SunCatcher. It uses no water for cooling, just to wash the mirrors and has the highest efficiency of any solar power generator. First scale demonstration project begins in September — in Arizona.
russ

I read that in Oregon they call the bill passed FITNO – considered too weak by some.

Unless Arizona does something about water they will soon be out of business – the CSP plants permitted so far use traditional cooling towers and something in the range of 750 gallons per mW of water.

Whenever the authorities wake up maybe they will consider making use of the Heller cooling tower mandatory. They have a good track record in other places around the world and use maybe 3% as much water.
russ

I read that in Oregon they call the bill passed FITNO – considered too weak by some.

Unless Arizona does something about water they will soon be out of business – the CSP plants permitted so far use traditional cooling towers and something in the range of 750 gallons per mW of water.

Whenever the authorities wake up maybe they will consider making use of the Heller cooling tower mandatory. They have a good track record in other places around the world and use maybe 3% as much water.