Monday, March 15, 2010

Solar power feels under attack in Arizona

The solar power industry flexed its muscle to defeat HB2701 which would have effectively eliminated the renewable energy requirements in Arizona.    But they are now moving to fight what they call an even bigger challenge - Rep. Carl Seele's HB2381, to remove the Arizona Corporation Commission's right to set renewable energy standards.

In a prominent blog post, the Calfinder Solar blog said, "The recent wave of attacks on solar power in Arizona is troubling for a state that has some of the best solar potential in the world.arizona solar power There are states where one could argue that solar power is not the best renewable option, like the windy Dakotas or the geothermal-laden Northwest, but Arizona is practically made of sunshine. Why any group or lawmaker would want to kill solar power in that state is beyond this writer."

Even though the industry hopes to kill this second bill, "the fact that such contention exists in Arizona may scare off potential solar industry additions to the state. Several states are working to attract green tech industries and the market is highly competitive.  

"...industry followers are unlikely to wait around for long while California, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado and other states wait with open arms and less uncertainty."

ACC chair Kris Mayes, is quoted elsewhere as saying,  “For the life of me, I can’t understand why certain legislators want to kill renewable energy.”

6 comments:

  1. Isn't there a fair amount of coal in NE AZ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Solar energy and energy conservation been under attack in Arizona for decades.

    It just ain't that hard to understand...

    http://ratecrimes.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chuck, the Black Mesa coal field on the Colorado Plateau is the main deposit in Arizona and the only one that is mined. It supplied the Henderson NV power plant until that shut down a few years ago. Currently it provides coal to the Navajo Generating Station in Page. It's been a major source of jobs and revenues to the Navajo Nation but there are groups opposed to the mine and the power plant.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good post! I think that time for adopting green energy sources has arrived.

    ReplyDelete
  5. solar lights, If one looks carefully at the economics, and how they have been manipulated in order to maintain a captive market of maximum consumption and profits for the utilities, it becomes apparent that the time for adopting solar in sunny Arizona should have occurred more than a decade ago. Unfortunately (and I mean this in every sense of the word), someone had to pay for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station with subsidies both apparent and hidden.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3:06 PM

    It is time to adopt different technology like solar and wind .

    http://www.sunrisesolarnow.com

    ReplyDelete