Solar Energy

Utilities Director Trots the Globe on Arizona CorpComm Time

Utilities Director Trots the Globe on Arizona CorpComm Time

Phoenix Has a Bizarre Link to an Imploding California Solar Company

Phoenix Has a Bizarre Link to an Imploding California Solar Company

Arizona GOP Blasts Clean Energy Group for Filing Failure, but State Admits Fault

By Ray Stern
Jan 24, 2019

"It's just more lies from the Republican Party, as usual." - Aleigha Cavalier, spokesperson for Tom Steyer and Clean Energy for Healthy Arizonans.
Update: FBI Visits Home of California Solar Couple Who Gave Generators to Phoenix

By Elizabeth Whitman
Dec 20, 2018

The company's owners also like to sponsor NASCAR drivers and races.
Underachieving Solana Solar Plant Keeps Polluting Arizona's Air

By Ray Stern
Nov 28, 2018

"Solana has not yet achieved its technical capacity on a continuous basis," said the SEC.
Meet Kiana Sears, 'Warrior for Justice' Running for Corporation Commission

By Elizabeth Whitman
Sep 20, 2018

“I call myself the economic and environmental justice warrior,” Sears said.
ASU Prof: Clean-Energy Goals Are 'Folly and Futility,' Won't Meet Climate Promises

By Ray Stern
Feb 15, 2018

Today's technology places physical limits of what's possible, author and professor Tom Rez says.
Billionaire Trump Foe Behind Solar Energy Measures in Arizona, Other States

By Ray Stern
Feb 13, 2018

Tom Steyer-funded group touts health benefits of measure that would require the state's utilities to use clean energy to generate 50 percent of electricity needs.
Arizona Clean Power Initiative for 2018 Will Help the Future and Save Money, Campaign Firm Says

By Ray Stern
Jan 9, 2018

Arizonans will get to vote in 2018 on a clean-energy measure that will help the future, firm says.
OSIRIS-REx Photos: 'Feels Like It's Your Eyes Up in Space Looking at Earth'

By Molly Longman
Sep 27, 2017

University of Arizona scientists are processing data from images of Earth after their asteroid-chasing spacecraft flies by.
Dark Clouds — Transformer Fires and Air Pollution — Continue to Follow Solana Power Plant

By Ray Stern
Aug 30, 2017

The Solana solar plant has more production problems, and more air-pollution allegations, despite previous statements by officials that similar foul-ups in the past had been solved.
APS Agrees to Limit Rate Hike for All, Pay Solar Users More Than Expected; Is It Enough?

By Ray Stern
Mar 1, 2017

Arizona's largest public utility agreed on Wednesday to limit a planned rate hike for all customers and grandfather in rates for existing rooftop solar customers .New solar customers would receive similar compensation rates as existing customers.
County Fines AZ Solar Plant a Record $1.5M, but Pollution Is Expected to Continue

By Ray Stern
Sep 29, 2016

Maricopa County officials expect toxic emissions from the $2 billion Solana concentrated-solar plant near Gila Bend to continue despite a record $1.5 million fine for air-quality violations. The fine was the latest embarrassment for the plant, which was was built by Spain's Abengoa Solar company with loan guarantees from the...
Solana Solar Plant's Poor Performance Gets Worse After July Microburst Damage

By Ray Stern
Sep 22, 2016

The Solana Generating Station — the large concentrated-solar plant near Gila Bend — was knocked out by a microburst for a few days in late July and won't generate power normally for months, a new report reveals. The severe problem comes on top of generally poor performance from the $2...
We're No. 6! Sierra Club Names ASU One of Nation's Greenest Universities

By Elizabeth Stuart
Sep 7, 2016

The 2,700 revelers who attended Arizona State University's most recent staff barbecue cast aside more than 580 pounds of soda bottles, plastic cutlery, leftover food, and other assorted trash. But less than .03 percent of that, or what Mick Dalrymple, ASU's director of sustainability practices, describes as "about half a bag," was actually...
Solar Settlement Talks Brokered by Governor Ducey Have Been 'Suspended'

By Ray Stern
Jun 10, 2016

Settlement talks brokered by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey between a pro-solar group, lawmakers, and the state's largest utility have been halted for now. "They've been suspended," Kris Mayes, spokeswoman for the SolarCity-backed group, told New Times on Thursday. Mayes added that the suspension is effective immediately. "Unfortunately, that's all I can say."...
Credit Suisse Analyst: APS Plan Would Kill Off New Rooftop Solar Installations in Arizona

By Ray Stern
Jun 10, 2016

A new Arizona Public Service rate plan would essentially kill off new solar installations by top companies Solar City, SunRun, and Vivant by next year, a Credit Suisse analyst said on Tuesday. The statements in a research report by analyst Patrick Jobin added to fears already voiced by the pro-solar...
Solar Impulse Airplane Leaves Phoenix, Heads East on Around-the-World Voyage

By Ray Stern
May 12, 2016

A solar-powered airplane designed to bring attention to renewable energy departed from the Phoenix area early this morning to continue its attempt at an around-the-world flight. The Solar Impulse 2 spent 10 days in the Valley after pilot André Borschberg landed to the cheers of a small crowd on May...
Solar Impulse Airplane Lands in Arizona, Shows Strengths and Limitations of Solar-Powered Flight

By Ray Stern
May 3, 2016

The solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 landed at a Phoenix-area airport on Monday night, completing a leg of its around-the-world goal to cheers from an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers. Slowly but surely, the electric airplane is making history: It is powered solely by the solar panels that cover its wings,...
Arizona Solar-Power Initiative Ends, Peace With Utilities Begins in Doug Ducey-Brokered Deal

By Ray Stern
Apr 29, 2016

Plans for competing ballot measures on solar power were scrubbed this week as peace broke out in the battle between rooftop-solar companies, utilities, and Republican lawmakers. Both sides in the debate over rooftop-solar payments agreed to sit at the negotiating table over the next two weeks in a settlement deal...
Sparks Fly in New Arizona Solar-Energy-Initiative Campaign

By Ray Stern
Apr 19, 2016

A new citizens' initiative launched last week aims to help solar-power companies and customers by guaranteeing lucrative power-purchase rates for six years. But don't expect a clear, sunny picture of the facts during what is sure to be a nasty fight in the next several months — the truth is...
Arizona Solar-Power Fraud Leads to $3-Million Award in Federal Lawsuit

By Ray Stern
Mar 14, 2016

The scamsters behind a sophisticated solar-power fraud scheme exposed by Phoenix New Times finally have been held accountable in a U.S. court. Last month, Arizona U.S. District Judge David Bury handed down a $3.1 million judgment against the men behind Matinee Energy — a group of swindlers who include a former...

More Solar Energy