By Patrick O’Grady
Managing Editor, Phoenix Business Journal
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, Co-Chair of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
Arizona’s solar industry is notoriously cagey when it comes to discussing issues with the ecosystem, particularly when it comes to incentives and permitting.
There are reasons for that, and they generally revolve around not biting the hand that feeds you, even if it’s just a little bit of food. Installers have been reluctant to go on the record about incentives for fear that any complaint about Arizona Public Service Co. or Salt River Project could send their applications for projects with those utilities to the bottom of the pile. No incentives, no customers.
Michael Neary, executive director of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association, has been working for several years to have that industry — one that involves a lot more than installers — develop some common stands on issues. That comes into play because members of AriSEIA include utility representation as well as people from cities.
In terms of developing better standards for permitting, the industry has been down this road before. Ten years ago, Neary said the industry worked through the Maricopa Association of Governments to develop permitting processes that all cities could use. The industry also has been working for years at the Legislature to get things done.
Things have improved, Neary said.
