By Ryan Randazzo | The Arizona Republic
Despite rapid growth in the solar industry over the past several years, there is one sobering statistic for the Valley of the Sun.
The Phoenix area’s two main power companies get only 0.65 percent and 2.4 percent of their power from solar. The number is strikingly little for a place so renowned for its sunshine, but not surprising compared with the national average of about 1 percent.
By 2025, regulated utilities in Arizona will be required to get at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. But utilities can meet the requirement with anything from wind power harnessed in New Mexico to geothermal power generated in California. That means there is no guarantee solar will emerge as the renewable fuel of choice for utilities and become the powerhouse industry the state has hoped for.
In fact, several challenges could slow solar’s growth:
