Tag Archives: APS

Arizona Court Allows Solar Property Tax Exemption

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: Yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that homeowners that lease rooftop solar systems do not have to pay state property taxes on that home improvement.

  • The court found that since the homeowners don’t own the “electrical generation facilities,” they have earned a state property tax exemption
  • It refused, however, to offer an opinion on whether counties could levy property taxes on the solar arrays.
  • The case stretches back to 2013, when the state’s Department of Revenue, with the support of APS (the state’s largest utility), decided it could collect property taxes on the arrays.

SolarWakeup’s View:  The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to provide a property tax exemption for homeowners who lease their rooftop solar arrays was not only the right decision, but I believe it will go a long way toward restoring a residential rooftop solar market hammered by Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) decisions over the past two years.

As you may or may not recall, the ACC ended a bruising three year battle over net metering in December 2016 by deciding to end retail net metering (a 1:1 exchange for electrons at the retail rate) for all new rooftop solar installations (in fairness, it did eventually grandfather current users, but not without a huge effort on the part of the state’s solar industry).

The state’s rooftop installers worried it would devastate their market, and the ACC’s decision certainly slowed down the market, all while APS started building utility-scale solar at an ever-increasing pace. The utility-scale building could be seen as a direct challenge to the rooftop industry and as a blatant attempt to maintain their monopoly generation power.

Yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court evened the playing field a bit, at least for companies that lease panels to their customers. Frankly, it would have been a much bigger victory had the rule applied to all rooftop solar installations (like Florida did two years ago for commercial rooftop installations), but right now Arizona rooftop installers will take anything they can get.

Sometimes a small victory can blossom over time into a much bigger one. The Arizona Supreme Court decision yesterday could be the start of just such a process.

More:

Solar customers don’t have to pay some taxes, state Supreme Court rules (AZ Central)

Natural Gas Plans Hit Snag For Arizona Utility

Natural Gas Plans Hit Snag For Arizona Utility

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: In a move the surprised many, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) told APS, the state’s largest utility, to get more of its electricity from renewables instead of natural gas.

  • The plans presented by APS submitted to the commission planned to add 5.3 GW of natural gas generation by 2032.
  • In contrast, APS planned to add only 183 MW of renewables to the portfolio.
  • The commissioners, who are sometimes accused of being too chummy with the utility they regulate, told APS unequivocally to stop fooling around and add more renewables to their generation portfolio.

SolarWakeup’s View:  When I first read about the Arizona Corporation Commissioners’ decision to halt (at least temporarily) the Arizona Public Service (APS) plan to almost double its natural gas portfolio in favor of renewables, I thought it must have been a typo. Most of what I’ve read out of the state in recent years has centered on the sometimes cozy relationship the commissioners have with the state’s biggest utility.

After I realized Yann Brandt was not, in fact, punking me, I stood and cheered.

Instead of going along with APS’ 15-year resource plan, the commissioners instead told them to join the 21st century and draw up plans to acquire more renewable energy in its portfolio. And let’s be honest: With the highest insolation rates anywhere in the country, solar is just a natural fit for the state.

From E&E News and writer Benjamin Storrow comes the following note from an environmental activist:

“I don’t want to overstate national implications, but I do think it’s recognition that continued investment in natural gas is risky,” said Stacy Tellinghuisen, a senior climate policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates. “Commissioners are seeing clean energy is cheaper. They’re seeing that’s what the public wants. So I think this decision reflects all those factors.”

The battle over solar – particularly rooftop solar – has been bitter and brutal in The Grand Canyon state, with one commissioner saying that the fight over net metering (one that ended with significant changes being made that have made residential rooftop solar a harder sell) was something he never wished to be involved in again. Over time, many solar advocates in the state have worried aloud about what the state would do in terms of building a sufficient reneweable infrastructure or hold APS responsible.

It’s only one instance, this temporary natural gas moratorium, but maybe it signals a longer-term vision by the ACC that will place solar at the front and center of the clean energy infrastructure debate in Arizona once again.

More:

Regulators freeze new gas projects, demand renewables

Some states block plans for new power plants

The Trump Energy Cabinet and the Fight in Arizona

Lucy Mason – Arizona SEIA’s Executive Director and Former Republican State Legislator

Yann is joined by AriSEIA’s Lucy Mason. Lucy is the executive director of Arizona’s State Chapter, a republican and former Chair of the Water and Energy Committee in the State House of Representatives in Arizona.

Arizona has been the battleground for solar net metering for many years and Lucy has recently joined a settlement. We talk about how solar can speak to republicans and the mutual benefits to both sides. This is the last in the conversations with State Chapter directors.

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