Solar Energy Flexes its Muscles in Arizona
It ain’t over yet, but it seems that solar energy advocates in Arizona have managed to stall legislation that would have stalled clean energy investment in the state. Representative Debbie Lesko (R-9), the primary sponsor of the HB (House Bill) 2701, withdrew her support after hearing from individuals, groups and businesses including green jobs advocate Az4Solar, solar manufacturer SunTech, and solar installer SolarCity.
As reported by Eric Wesoff of greentechmedia.com, HB 2701 will count nuclear energy as a renewable source. That would fulfill Arizona’s renewable energy pledge because the state already gets about 25% of its power from nukes. In turn, that would put the kibosh on incentives for new solar installation and other forms of genuinely renewable energy in Arizona – which in turn would throw cold water on the growth of green jobs in Arizona. And that would be quite a letdown for a state that’s poised to lead the U.S. out of the fossil fuel dark ages and into a sustainable clean energy future.
Arizona and Solar Energy
Arizona has become a a solar industry leader not only due to itsby forging strong relationships with top clean energy companies like SunTech and Kyocera. As Wesoff reports, Arizona utility APS also came out against HB 2701, which puts it squarely in line with the swelling ranks of utilities and energy companies that are supporting clean energy. Among those are the Michigan utility DTE Energy, which sponsors the Clean Energy Prize, and global clean energy giant Veolia Environment which has just launched the Veolia Innovation Accelerator.
Fossil Fuels vs. Clean Energy – Follow the Money
The world of commerce being the shark tank that it is, it should be no surprise that fossil fuel companies and their supporters are fighting tooth and nail to prevent subsidies and incentives for competing forms of energy. Obviously, that includes trying to block new climate regulations or climate related legislation that favors clean (and genuinely renewable) energy. However, momentum is clearly growing on the clean energy side. As more clean energy companies grow, they become important employers and contributors to the tax base. SolarCity, for example, is not a small local installer. It works with the solar group purchasing company One Block Off the Grid (which is also affiliated with this blog, cleantechnica.com). The company has been starting up new solar installations hand over fist nationwide. One of its latest projects is a stab deep in the heart of fossil fuel territory, a partnership with TXU Energy that will give the Texas utility’s two million customers access to low cost solar energy installations for individual homes.
Image: Weight Lifter by Alex Cheek on flickr.com.
Update: A reference to Altus Air Force Base has been deleted from this post (the base is located in Oklahoma).
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February 27th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I too celebrate the demise of this hideously wrong-headed bill, but I disagree with the characterization of your title. Solar is hardly the 800-pound gorilla in Arizona, rather it was under assault from some powerfully ideologically driven legislators who deny climate change is real as a pretext to their support for traditional extraction forms of energy. I think a more apt title would have been “Solar lives to see the light of another day in the desert.”
February 28th, 2010 at 7:28 am
Folks- No such thing as Altus AFB. It’s Davis Monthan AFB. Altus is a housing provider that owns on-base housing and is building the solar array to provide electricity to housing only. The base has an RFP out for solar to be used by the base itself but no solar built for that purpose yet. THe Altus project however, at 5-6 MW, will be the largest PV project in AZ when completed….
March 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am
The United States Air Force is fully committed and excited about reducing, reusing, and recycling our natural resources. It should be noted that Altus Air Force Base is in Oklahoma, not Arizona.
Check us out at http://www.altus.af.mil!
March 1st, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Solar energy what a great way to go! I am pretty excited as this spring we are going to get our own solar system up and operating. Hopefully this system will provide enough power for two houses and a small office. Dan
March 4th, 2010 at 3:52 am
Hi Jennifer, dang that was some mistake! Thanks for the catch.