Solar Group Gets Noticed
A group that barely existed a year ago had a hand in rolling back a recent proposal in Arizona that some say endangered a fledgling renewable energy industry in the state.
I recently spoke to Robert Hoskins, the executive director of the Arizona Solar Power Society, a group that was formed in January of 2009. The industry really wasn't coordinated before, he said.
A bill proposed in the Arizona legislature last month would have taken jurisdiction of the state's renewable portfolio standard away from regulators, the Arizona Corporation Commission, and placed it in the legislature's hands. And with a proposal to redefine renewable energy to "carbon-free energy," including nuclear, renewable technologies like solar and wind would have become redundant. In effect, energy targets for clean energy would have already been met, effectively eliminating the need for more wind, solar or geothermal resources.
"It would have taken $200 million in investment in solar and crushed it," was the way Hoskins put it. "This is about the only part of the Arizona economy that is growing." A public outcry, in part led by the society, led to the bill's withdrawal. Besides the public outcry, a proposed PV factory outside of Phoenix by Suntech, the company's first in the United States, was jeopardized by the plan.
There are also hundreds of small installation firms that have grown up in response to state incentives. Each company might have five to 10 employees each.
As a result, the society's membership has grown to more than 800. The group promotes business development practices for its members, including large-scale solar industry community outreach programs, solar installation training programs, solar business planning seminars and its series of town hall meetings to promote the economic development activities of the solar industry at the local level. It assists entrepreneurs in applications for federal Small Business Administration loans, for instance.
That's turf Hoskins said he's more familiar with developing. While "not a political person," he's ready to jump into action again to promote the industry again.
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