Solar-power guidelines should be fair to all
Arizona has some of the most progressive solar policies in the country. In just a few years, Arizona’s 15 percent Renewable Energy Standard and its favorable permitting policies have resulted in 1,097 megawatts of solar-generating facilities by the end of 2012, making Arizona second in the nation only to California.
This is enough power to meet the annual energy needs of more than 200,000 typical Arizona homes while removing 1.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Arizona Public Service Co. was a solar pioneer long before it was fashionable, demonstrating solar plants that other utilities who were considering solar at the time would tour. As part of the renewable-energy standard, APS created AZSun, an innovative program that decreases system and ratepayer costs by allowing APS to select the site and the point of interconnection of larger-scale, lower-cost solar facilities.
Solar plants in Gila Bend, for example, take advantage of the area’s excellent solar radiation and available electric transmission.
All of APS’ customers receive a slice of this power and share in its cost. AZSun has emerged as a visionary, cost-effective model because it optimizes the value of solar on the grid and takes advantage of economies of scale. JAMES A. HUGHES
Arizona’s solar-power facilities range in size from small, rooftop residential installations to large, utility-scale power plants that produce thousands of rooftop equivalents of power.
As an example, it would take about 5,500 residential rooftop installations to equal the output of a relatively modest 17-megawatt facility like APS’ Paloma PV project, constructed by First Solar in Gila Bend.
Not surprisingly, the cost and rate impact to APS’ customers of solar facilities varies depending on scale, configuration and many other factors. Studies show that the cost per installed watt of utility-scale systems is as little as one third that of rooftop systems.
Small solar-system owners benefit significantly from “net energy metering,” an arrangement that allows rooftop solar owners to generate more electricity than they can use at any one time, transmit that electricity to the grid and get credit for it when the sun isn’t shining.
In other words, customers who benefit from net energy metering as it is currently implemented are able to use the transmission and distribution grid as a giant virtual battery, “storing” the excess energy they generate during the day until they need it when they aren’t generating.
However, the net-metered customer does not share equally in the overhead costs associated with the grid or other services provided by the utility, producing a very substantial “cross-subsidy” funded by all other utility customers who must pay proportionately more in rates.
The Arizona Corporation Commission and APS are right to seek the highest volume of solar power at the lowest cost to rate-paying customers.
Customers should also continue to have the right to connect their rooftop installations to the grid.
But the rules governing solar installations — no matter what the size — need to be fair to everyone.
Additionally, if we hope as a society to deal effectively with the threat of climate change, then we need as a matter of public policy to make certain that we are achieving the greatest impact in terms of carbon mitigation for every dollar spent.
Arizonans appreciate the environmental and economic benefits of solar energy. They want more solar power, and that is good.
We owe it to them to ensure that they are being treated equitably and are getting the most solar value for their buck.