Sparking interest
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Arizona State University is plugging into the sun with a huge solar project. It's a critical jolt to the state's future, boosting our energy supply and the solar industry.

The public-relations value alone is significant: ASU's 2 megawatts of panels, spread across 135,000 square feet of roofs and parking structures, will be the largest solar installation at any U.S. university. When it's installed at the end of this year, it could be the largest solar rooftop array anywhere in the country.

And that's just the start. Over the next few years, ASU expects to put a total of 7 megawatts of solar in Tempe, supplying almost a quarter of its energy needs. Installations are planned on other campuses as well.

Environmentally and economically, it's the right thing to do.

ASU President Michael Crow has taken a leadership role in a 600-strong group of colleges and universities committed to dealing with climate change. That's one reason his institution should be showing how to walk the talk.

Even more important, ASU is becoming a major player in solar research and sustainability. This is a real-world showcase of its efforts.

The bottom line works, too. ASU has no upfront costs. Instead, contractors will build the systems and then charge the university a fixed price for 15 years. The rate is already competitive with the university's peak-hour costs in some buildings. And it will stay locked in, while electric rates are expected to keep rising. In the past four years, ASU's power bill has jumped 40 percent.

The project gives Arizona a one-two punch in solar.

Arizona Public Service Co. announced a massive solar-generating project near Gila Bend, larger than any existing plant in the world.

The ASU project is the other side of solar: electricity generated right where it's used. The beauty of on-site solar is that it reduces the need for more transmission lines and power plants - expenses we all end up paying.

While ASU grabbed the spotlight, Tucson is emerging as another pacesetter in installing solar power. Other groups should follow their example.

Tapping our sunshine is not only smart energy policy, but it also creates the local demand that will build our solar industry.

Solar is hot but still in its early stages. It requires state and federal incentives to compete with established sources of power that have benefited from subsidies for decades.

Both the ASU project and the APS solar plant hinge on two critical pieces of public policy that must be continued:

• The Arizona Corporation Commission's renewable-energy standard requires regulated utilities to produce a certain percentage of their power from solar, wind and other renewable sources. In this year's election, voters should consider only those candidates who are committed to retaining this crucial rule.

• Federal tax credits for solar, tiny compared with the breaks given to gas and oil, will expire at the end of this year. The House has passed an extension, but the Senate is moving slowly.

For years, Arizona showed a puzzling inertia over tapping into sunshine. It was as if Saudi Arabia refused to pump oil. Now, that we're finally connecting with solar, we need the incentives to keep it humming.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0610tue1-10.html