HB 2701

The Death of Arizona Anti-Solar Bill HB 2701

by Rich Hessler Solar on May 25, 2010

Arizona house bill 2701, introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko, was on its way to killing the state's solar sector until it was recently dropped. HB 2701 was to allow the state to include nuclear and hydroelectric power in the renewable energy standards of Arizona's 2025 goal of generating 15% of all its energy from renewable sources.

Representative Kris Mayes, chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission and author of the state's current RES program, said HB 2701 "would surely be the death knell for advancing solar energy in the state."

HB 2701 would prevent solar investment in Arizona by sending the wrong message to utility companies. Permitting nuclear and hydroelectric sources to be used for distributed energy transmission would not leave room for solar companies like SolarCity, Kyocera Solar, and Suntech to provide renewable power to the grid. Needless to say, HB 2701 would also prevent all the solar jobs that were bound to develop in the state. HB...Read More >>