A proposal in Arizona could change the way free solar energy is marketed.
Typically, solar energy firms install solar panels, or arrays, on a given facility and the proprietor (business or homeowner) buys or leases the setup, uses the electricity, and sells any excess back to the local or regional utility which supplies power to the facility.
In Scottsdale, Foster City, a California-based Solar City Corp. wants to install solar panels on two school roofs, essentially for free, and allow the school district would buy the electricity generated.
This has regional utility Salt River Project (SRP) up in arms. Arizona Public Service Company, the other regional utility (and the larger by 3,998 megawatts and 600,000 customers), has posed no objections, even though both will be required to testify before the Arizona Corporation Commission, Arizona's equivalent of a public utilities commission.
The schools in question are Coronado and Desert Mountain high schools. The issue in question is: can a solar manufacturer operate as a utility? Backers of the proposal see it as a huge incentive to solar power, because it frees proprietors from the sometimes huge upfront costs of installing solar arrays. Opponents argue that it would let solar panel manufacturers sell electricity without the oversight of state utility regulators, leading to electric-pricing disputes and abuse.
Returning to the issue of upfront costs in free solar energy, some have noted that, while individuals and even corporations can offset these with any number of federal, regional and local incentives, government buildings and schools aren't eligible for many of them, largely because such properties are financed with tax-exempt private activity bonds or other federal, state, or local subsidized financing (Section 48 of the Investment Tax Credit).
Solar City argues that those limitations are slowing the growth of free solar energy, and many educators and public officials agree. Equally as important, Solar City, as the installer and owner of record, can take advantage of those incentives, meaning they aren't lost and are reflected down the road in cheaper installation costs across the board as profits drive down the cost of solar panels.
That benefit alone, in a time of continuing recession, is tempting. According to Solar City, schools could save $4.7 million on energy over the next 15 years by adopting the free solar energy process.
Solar City is not the first to make the suggestion, either. In October of 2008, Solar Alliance, a state-based advocacy group for solar designers, manufacturers, installers and financiers, asked the Corporation Commission to approve similar proposals. In fact, third party ownership using power purchase agreements (PPAs) was discussed as an option on Eshone Energy's blog.
The Arizona Corporation Commission has yet to get back to them, because the decision-making process challenges so many utility paradigms that there are no parallels, or precedents, to draw upon.
This is especially true as customers would still be connected to their local utility for electrical needs beyond the capacity of the individual solar systems. Also weighing heavily on the equation are Arizona's renewable energy mandates, which requires utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2025.
Solar City has so far rebutted SRP's challenge by saying that since it is not a monopoly, it doesn't need Corporation Commission regulation.
As Corporation Commission Chairwoman Kris Mayes points out, the entire solar community (and the nation) is waiting for a resolution of these difficult issues. Tom Alston, the head of Solar Alliance in Arizona, confirms that, and notes that more than half the recent applications for solar installations in the state have been coordinated through a solar-service agreement like the one SolarCity offers.
Clearly, if the proposal is rejected, free solar energy project will suffer a huge defeat in sunny Arizona.
Not only schools but even the common people can make solar panels and create free solar energy for their homes and small offices. You can find all these information at this blog http://free-home-solar-energy.blogspot.com/
Author Resource:-
Rita Weeks is a part-time Ph.D student from Houston University and doing thesis on how to use free solar energy and solar energy for home use. Her forte is her passion in studying free solar technologies and writes about it for general awareness.
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