It’s a great year to go solar! Prices for installation have never been lower. We have high-quality equipment that is designed to last for more than a quarter century, with 25-year warranties for solar modules, energy conversion equipment, and racking products.
Solar electric systems installed before the end of 2019 are eligible for a full 30% federal tax credit, as well as a $1,000 Arizona tax credit.
But before you sign a contract with a solar installer, make sure that they thoroughly understand how solar can save you money, and that your installer has done their homework before giving you a quote. Read on to learn how solar has changed in Arizona, how you can put it to work for you, and how to avoid being taken for a ride by a shady solar contractor!
A solar electric system installed on the west side of Tucson.
In this guest post, Justine Schluntz shares an update on her experience living with solar, after three years of producing clean energy. Thanks Justine!
January 14 marked the 3-year anniversary of my solar PV system getting connected to the grid. Each of the past two anniversaries, I’ve written up a summary of my solar data for the year and shared it here (click for year 1 data and year 2 data). My love for numbers hasn’t gone away and neither has my goal to help others learn more about solar energy, so I’ve decided to continue the tradition and share my system and cost data for a third year.
Before I continue, it’s important to note that the financial picture for residential solar energy in Arizona has changed since I had my system installed in 2015. This means the numbers I report for costs won’t be consistent with numbers for someone installing a system in Tucson this year. Nevertheless, for many people, solar energy can still be a sound decision from a financial standpoint. If you want to find out what the numbers look like for your home, I encourage you to talk to the very knowledgeable staff at Net Zero Solar, the company I got my system from…
Update Wednesday, September 5th, 2:25pm. The Arizona Corporation Commission has placed consideration of TEP and Unisource Electric rate cases on the agenda for their September 11th-12th Open Meeting. At least until the ACC makes their decision, customers can continue to submit applications for solar electric systems with net metering.
Net metering for TEP and Unisource Electric customers has been a long saga. Although we expected net metering to disappear early in 2018, the case has dragged on due to a variety of factors.
Friends with solar electric systems on Tucson Electric Power’s grid, you might have heard about TEP’s new bill design.
Unfortunately, these bills provide inaccurate information for solar customers on net metering. Under their “2 Ways to Save” section, TEP suggests switching to time-of-use and/or demand rates. You can see what it looks like on the left side of the image below.
A recent TEP bill for a solar customer with net metering.
Very few (if any) solar customers will save money by switching to these rates, and it’s a bad idea to switch without doing a detailed analysis of the impact on your bills. We strongly recommend you remain on your standard residential net metering rate to preserve your solar savings.
Update, 12:50 pm, June 5th. The Arizona Corporation Commission has scheduled consideration of Phase II of the TEP and Unisource Energy rate cases for their June 12th Open Meeting. At least until the ACC makes their decision, TEP and UNSE customers can have their contractor submit a complete interconnection application to be “grandfathered” on net metering for twenty years.
April 26th, 2018. The day is almost upon us. After years of legal wrangling and public discussion, our elected Arizona Corporation Commissioners are expected to make their decision on the future of rooftop solar for Tucson Electric Power customers. Chairman Tom Forese and commissioner Andy Tobin will weigh in on the policies they approved in the December 2016 decision on the value of solar. Commissioner Bob Burns, who dissented in the value of solar docket will express his preferences. Newer commissioners Boyd Dunn and Justin Olson will also vote.
What will they be considering? A “Recommended Opinion and Order” (ROO) from the ACC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge, Jane L. Rodda. This 134-page document provides background on the case, including the position of TEP, solar companies, ACC staff, and other parties. More critically, it includes Judge Rodda’s careful conclusions regarding how each issue in the case should be resolved. However, the Commissioners can modify any aspect of the ROO at the planned hearing.
A Rooftop Solar Electric System in Tucson
The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown
Based on the decisions made in the Value of Solar Docket, we have known for some time that most Commissioner’s support for increased renewable energy is lukewarm at best. This is puzzling in a state like Arizona with an excellent solar resource, where the public overwhelmingly supports increased solar energy. I have found Judge Rodda to be an extremely thoughtful and intelligent public servant. Her duty is to evaluate the legal and policy issues raised in the value of solar and rate case dockets, and implement the ACC’s policy decisions. Read More
Net metering will soon disappear for Tucson Electric Power customers, but the deadline continues to be extended incrementally. Hearings before the Arizona Corporation Commission’s administrative law judge were completed last fall, but we are still waiting for Judge Rodda to write her recommendations, which will appear on the docket, and then go to our elected Commissioners for action at an open meeting. Originally, we expected that recommendation to come early in 2018, and the Commission to make their decision in February or March, but that didn’t happen.
The ACC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure tell us there must be ten days notice before a hearing (see R14-3-109A). There must also be a ten-day opportunity for parties—such as TEP, ACC staff, and solar advocates—to file exceptions to the Judge Rodda’s recommended order (see R14-3-110B). These deadlines mean that TEP’s net metering proposals can’t be considered at the ACC’s March Open Meeting, which is scheduled for March 13th-14th.
The ACC’s open meeting calendar shows their next open meeting is scheduled for April 10th-11th. This means that net metering will be available for TEP customers at least until that date. Any TEP customer who submits a complete interconnection application to TEP before April 10th will have net metering grandfathered for twenty years from the date of interconnection, but they must install their system within 180 days of that application. For customers who choose to upgrade an existing system, that twenty-year period starts from the original interconnection date.
If you are interested in solar, or know someone who is, we’d encourage you to get in touch with Net Zero Solar or other reputable local installers very soon. Read More
It’s been a long road. Utilities like Tucson Electric Power have been trying to reduce competition from rooftop solar for many years, but we can trace this rate case back to March of 2015, when TEP put forth a proposal to gut net metering, an important policy that allows a one-to-one credit for any “extra” energy from a solar electric system that’s sent to TEP. (For more info on how energy flows in a grid-connected solar electric system, see our infographic).
This net metered solar electric system in Oro Valley, Arizona is connected to the TEP grid.
In that case, TEP proposed that customers should be credited about 55% of the retail electric rate for energy sent back to their grid, which would have upended the economics of rooftop solar. More perniciously, they also proposed an arbitrary date for this change of June 1st, 2015 in their application, without any approval by the Arizona Corporation Commission. This was in contrast to the ACC’s established precedent against retroactive rates, and no reasonable outside observer thought it likely that the ACC would approve that date. However, it cast a long shadow on the solar market. We objected strenuously. Many customers were concerned that they would not receive net metering if they installed rooftop solar. At Net Zero Solar, we had to both lay off co-workers and take pay cuts.
Russell Lowes and Lhasha Tizer have worked tirelessly for many years to fight for sustainable energy and contribute to the Tucson community. After taking steps to reduce the energy use of their home, they installed solar in March of 2013. Here is their solar story, along with their thoughts on the future of energy in Tucson.
You can read more of Russell’s thoughts on solar and energy storage here.
Are you interested in solar, or know someone who is? Did you know that TEP customers can still lock in net metering for 20 years, if they make the decision to install soon? Get in touch with us for details, 520-207-4053, or www.netzerosolar.net.
Sonya installed solar on both her own home, and her rental property! See why she believes rooftop solar should be a big part of Tucson’s energy future.
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