Solar rankings are out, AZ utilities score high, low

The rankings for the amount of solar energy being produced by and for utilities across America are out, and the results are mixed. On the sunny side, Arizona Public Service Company ranked in the top 10 utilities for the total amount of solar Megawatts, in the Solar Electric Power Association's second annual "Top Ten Solar Integration Rankings." http://www.solarelectricpower.org/docs/SEPA%20Utility%20Solar%20Integration%20Rankings-2008.Public%20release.pdf. APS ranked 8th among all utilities surveyed for total solar Megawatts installed, although it looks like APS’ ranking for total solar MWs slid this year, down from its position last year, when it ranked 7th for total solar capacity. APS did climb the solar ladder nationally for the total amount of solar MWs installed on the customer side of the meter – essentially the ranking given for utilities that are doing a significant amount of solar rooftops, or distributed generation. APS ranked 6th for solar on the customer side of the meter, up from its ranking of 7th last year. (Thank the Arizona Renewable Energy Standard for this, with its significant dg carve-out). The results were equally mixed for Tucson Electric Power, which saw its ranking for total solar Megawatts increase from 9th to 8th, but experienced a decrease in its ranking for total solar Megawatts per customer from 5th to 8th. Salt River Project saw its ranking for total solar Megawatts by Public Power Utilities drop from 4th to 5th (it’s important also to note that SRP’s total actual number of solar Megawatts installed was far less than APS and TEP). SRP and TEP did not rank at all for total solar watts per customer, and did not make the top ten utilities listing for total solar megawatts installed (recall APS ranked 8th). The SEPA rankings demonstrate that the Renewable Energy Standard is keeping Arizona competitive among states doing solar energy, but California utilities, and interestingly, Colorado’s Excel Energy, are still either leading the way, or in the case of Excel, coming on strong.

SRP caps solar system size, limits renewables budget

The Salt River Project decided yesterday to cap the size of residential rooftop systems eligible for its rebate to 5 kws, limit the amount allowed for any commercial solar rebate and cap the per watt solar rooftop incentive to $2.70 per watt. http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/04/21/20090421biz-solarcuts0422.html. While I have never been an advocate of keeping the per watt incentive high forever, I think what SRP has done is premature, and demonstrates an unfortunate lack of seriousness when it comes to rooftop solar in Arizona and renewables in general. In every category of renewable energy, the Project is vastly underspending the state's other utilities, which are regulated by the Corporation Commission and must comply with the Commission's Renewable Energy Standard. The problem here is that SRP isn't just a little irrigation ditch company anymore -- it's one of the largest utilities in the state, and by ratcheting back its solar program, SRP is sending the wrong signal to the rest of the country at precisely the time Arizona is trying to brand itself as the solar energy capitol of the country. It also creates a disparity between utility customers in Phoenix: if you happen to live in Arizona Public Service's territory, you will receive a growing number of solar options, and if you take electricity from SRP, a lesser amount of renewable energy. Over time, as Congress considers and probably passes a cap and trade program, this will also mean that SRP customers, who will be more exposed to coal-fired electricity, will pay higher prices. SRP should rethink this decision, or find some other way to show it's committed to building a solar energy future for Arizona.

Solar CEOs voice cautious optimism about investor interest

Solar titans at yesterday's Greentech Media Conference in Scottsdale voiced cautious optimism about investor interest in solar companies. Lyndon Rive, the founder and CEO of Solar City, which leases solar systems to homeowners and businesses and has a significant presence in Arizona, noted there is still a lot of interest among venture capital investors in solar companies, especially those that have a strong management team. Rive said those companies will receive money from the markets, though perhaps not as much and not as quickly as last year. Peter Green, the CEO of New Mexico-based Advent Solar said he's seen a "freeing up" of private equity financing for solar companies the past four to six weeks, and that investors are largely looking for renewable energy companies that demonstrate breakthroughs in technology, over companies that are purely providing new capacity. (Green cited the fact that some capacity is now shutting down in China). Rive sounded warnings about the need to continue to break down barriers to adoption of solar, which focus around the up-front costs associated with putting solar on rooftops, and the aesthetics of the panels. Green, who announced a new partnership with Arizona State University yesterday, as well, http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/04/16/20090416biz-advent0416.html, called on states like Arizona to seize the opportunity it has to fashion itself as a "center of expertise in solar." According to Green, the states that demonstrate an ability to drive down costs will attract capital and businesses, but the chance to do so is fleeting. "It's about lowering cost and it needs to be developed here (in Arizona) and it is perishable."

States nudge home builders to go solar

I can't recall the precise number of times I've been asked by an Arizona constituent why we don't do a better job of getting home builders to put solar on rooftops when they are building the homes, rather than ex post facto, but it is a lot. It always seemed like a good idea to me, and a few years ago I convened several home builders in my office to figure out how to encourage builders to get on board with solar from the get-go. A few niche-market home builders in Arizona are making solar an option just like granite counterparts, but for the most part, it's still up to homeowners in Arizona to put up the panels. Now, several states are moving to require builders to make their housing stock solar friendly. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-04-06-solar-ready_N.htm. In New Jersey, home builders of more than 25 houses will have to offer solar and discuss it as an option with prospective buyers under a bill being considered by the Legislature there; Colorado is mulling legislation that would require builders to pre-wire homes for solar and inform buyers they can roll the cost of a solar system into the price of the mortgage; in Hawaii, all new homes will have to come outfitted with a solar water heater beginning in 2010; and in New Mexico, the Governor just signed a bill that sets up renewable energy districts to help home buyers finance solar systems. Arizona legislators have sponsored a slew of their own solar-related bills, which await action after the state addresses the budget crisis. http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/story.cfm?id=10801.

Renewables rising...

The latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that the ascendancy of renewable energy is becoming more real by the month. According to EIA, the amount of all forms of renewable energy produced in the United States increased by 5.9 percent in 2008. Non-hydro renewables such as wind and solar fared the best, with solar enjoying a 36.1 percent jump and wind energy increasing by an impressive 51 percent. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html. What does it all mean? Primarily that renewables are just beginning to establish a foothold in the energy marketplace, and the increasingly expensive natural gas and coal-fired electricity -- which aren't going away -- are going to have some company in utility portfolios. Still, non-hydro renewables (solar, wind, biomass, biogas, geothermal) only make up about 3 percent of the nation's total energy production, so there is a long way to go before we have a balanced energy supply in the United States.

Mike Ahearn speaks the truth at ASU

Mike Ahearn, CEO of First Solar, pointed out the very true yesterday in a speech at ASU, that the attacks on the ACC's Renewable Energy Standard from the far right need to stop (he called the RES "embattled"), or we aren't going to see renewables companies invest in Arizona. Like any normal company, they won't take the risk. http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/03/27/20090327biz-firstsolar0327.html.
He noted the Goldwater Institute's lawsuit against the Corporation Commission over the RES, and a recent bill at the Arizona Legislature that would have counted nuclear power as renewable and stripped the Commission of authority over renewable energy in Arizona. The good news is we are fighting very hard against both, and I believe we will win, but such broadsides are never helpful when surrounding states are more than supportive of renewable energy.

Where will they build it?

Yesterday, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein signalled her dissatisfaction with the use of broad swaths of her state's desert for use by solar energy developers. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-desert25-2009mar25,0,6168582.story. There is no doubt that large-scale solar energy has a footprint, and Feinstein has a right to be concerned about where the solar dishes, towers and panels will go as California builds up its renewable energy market. Nevertheless, the move to block 800,000 acres in the Mojave desert has more than a few renewable energy advocates scratching their heads, wondering how California believes it can meet its soon to be 33 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard -- highest in the nation -- if it declares huge portions of desert exempt from large-scale solar projects. Of course, what is California's loss may be Arizona's gain, if all of that solar development winds up moving across the Colorado River.