By Patrick O’Grady | Phoenix Business Journal
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
Five years ago, Arizona was looking to become a world leader in solar. Now it’s sliding into also-ran status.
The industry has been at war with utilities. The most recent example was when Salt River Project opted to set higher rates for solar customers signing up for systems — a move that last week prompted the nation’s largest installer, SolarCity to file a lawsuit.
This week, the Sunlight Foundation reported that the Arizona State University Foundation gave $100,000 to a group called Save Our Future Now. Foundation officials said it was for educational outreach. The group, however, is best known for campaigning against pro-solar industry positions during the Arizona Corporation Commission race last fall. It’s put everyone on the defensive — including Arizona Public Service Co., which recently have the ASU Foundation $181,000.
That’s a lot of coincidences, and here’s one more: Bill Post, former chairman, president and CEO of APS parent Pinnacle West Capital Corp., was chairman of the AUS Foundation when the donation was made.
Whatever the outcome of these issues, we are a far cry from former Gov. Jan Brewer’s characterization of Arizona as the solar capital of the world.
