Arizona Public Service Co. filed an application with the Arizona Corporation Commission on Monday to install rooftop systems for 3,000 customers and pay them $30 per month to "rent" the roof space for a 20-year period.
APS executives said the proposal, which they hope to get through the ACC by September, is the first large-scale bid from a traditionally regulated utility to enter the residential solar market.
"In terms of the scale and scope of this ... there's nothing close," said Marc Romito, manager of APS's renewable energy program. The installations would total about 20 megawatts and would count toward APS's target of 200 MW of solar installed by the end of 2015. They would be paid for through customer rates; APS puts the cost at $57 million to $70 million.
APS last year engaged in a bruising battle with solar rooftop leasing companies over the role of distributed generation, arguing that solar customers don't pay their fair share of infrastructure costs, which are incorporated into electricity rates. That fight resulted in a fee of 70 cents per kilowatt levied on rooftop systems.
The new proposal immediately reignited solar industry opposition, with national and state trade groups issuing strongly worded statements against it.
"After attacking rooftop solar companies in Arizona relentlessly for more than a year, this latest tactic by APS has a 'Trojan Horse' smell to it," said Solar Energy Industries Association spokesman Ken Johnson. "Our member companies welcome fair and equal competition, but this move would stack the deck in favor of a company which can rate-base solar with a guaranteed rate of return. How is that fair?"
Ariz. Provider Prepares to Enter Rooftop Solar Business
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