Homepage, Sweet (Solar), Homepage

Arizona’s new solar website, mentioned here yesterday, is now live at www.arizonagoessolar.org.

“The site’s name says it all,” Arizona Corporation Commission chair Kris Mayes told reporters at a formal unveiling this morning. “It isn’t called ‘Arizona went solar.’ It isn’t  ‘Arizona will go solar.’ It’s called ‘Arizona Goes Solar.’

“The Commission is hoping that Arizonagoessolar.org will be the meet-up place for every Arizonan who is interested in solar energy in our state,” explained  Mayes. “This website will increase the transparency of solar rebates and incentives, and provide a real-time look at where solar systems are being deployed and how much energy they can produce.”

Briefly, here are a few screen grabs showing some of the new site’s features.

Arizona Solar Map

For many, the most exciting and useful feature at the site is the mapping program. The site shows nearly every solar installation in the state by zip code. The information is supplied by the relevant utility company, and is updated every two weeks.

Say, for example, you’re considering installing solar panels at your home. Just plug in your zip code and see how many others have already gone solar.

Utility-scale solar projects are also mapped and can be located by zip code or simply by finding the blue utility icon on the map.

“The Arizona Goes Solar website will go a long way toward increasing transparency for solar installations,” said Commissioner Paul Newman. “We’ve heard a lot of complaints about the lack of information on solar reservations. This website will be a useful tool for solar installers, ratepayers, utilities and researchers.”

Details pop up when an icon is double-clicked. I plugged in my zip code and clicked on the icon to get the information seen in the graphic below. It shows a total of 26 residential installations in my area, with a total capacity of 88 kW.

You can also click on the “non-residential” tab to see details on commercial installations in your zip code. (There were none shown for mine, but that’s not too surprising. It’s a small residential neighborhood.)

Solar map detail

There’s useful information about various aspects of solar power in Arizona throughout the site. For a first time user, it’s particularly helpful for understanding some of the more esoteric areas, such as the state’s Renewable Energy Standard:

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) established the Renewable Energy Standard (RES) in August, 2007 to identify short– and long–term renewable energy requirements for the state. The long–term requirement is for 15 percent of retail energy sales from ACC–regulated electric utilities to come from renewable energy resources by the year 2025. The current RES requirement is 2.5 percent of total each utility’s retail sales in 2010 and the rules prescribe that 25 percent of that requirement is to come from distributed energy resources Distributed Energy resources are installed on the customer’s premises and are used to offset customer load, such as rooftop solar panels. Half of the distributed energy or customer–owned requirement must be met by systems among residential customers and the other half from business customers.

The site also includes information about various workshops held around the state…

…utilities…

…and links to tax credits, rebates and other incentives for renewable energy installations.

But there’s one thing you shouldn’t expect to find, Mayes told reporters at the unveiling: the names of politicians.

“This is the people’s page.” she said. “It’s designed solely to provide information on solar power. My hope,” concluded Mayes, who is term-limited out of the ACC this November, “is that it will remain just that.”

Starting tomorrow, Arizona residents and businesses wanting to ‘go solar,’ learn more about active solar projects in the state, or check out the latest benefits and incentives available for solar installation, will have a new tool: the Arizona Goes Solar website.

The website will be hosted by the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities under state law.

The contents of the site itself will be a collaborative effort between the ACC and electric utility companies with the goal of creating a “one-stop shop for homeowners and business owners” according to a statement released by the ACC yesterday.

The media advisory lists these participating companies:

• Ajo Improvement Company
• Arizona Public Service (APS)
• Duncan Valley Electric
• Graham County Electric
• Mohave Electric Cooperative
• Morenci Water and Electric Company
• Navopache Electric
• Salt River Project (SRP)
• Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative
• Trico Electric Cooperative
• Tucson Electric Power (TEP)
• Unisource Energy Services

When it comes to supporting renewables, and solar power in particular, the ACC is recognized as one of the most consumer- and business-friendly state bodies in the nation. Adding the Arizona Goes Solar website  will help the ACC–  and solar power — shine.

Hyundai solar power plant, Spain

In April, some people were (happily) surprised when the South Korean company, Hyundai, announced it had taken the initial steps to join an international partnership and build the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in southeastern Arizona.

At 150 MW, the solar plant outside of Dragoon, AZ, will be 2.5 times larger than the largest PV plant existing today (a sprawling 60 MW facility in Olmedilla, Spain).

Just 10 miles down the road in Cochise, AZ, HHI will also build a much smaller PV solar plant — just 25 MW. (Small by today’s standards, but the Cochise plant will still be larger than the total U.S. industrial scale PV capacity in 2005.)

No one should have been too surprised, however. The South Korean industrial powerhouse never does things in a small way. The company owns the world’s largest shipyard, where it produces super-tankers, container ships and other large vessels including  LNG carriers the length of three football fields.

In 2008, HHI announced it was expanding its then-small solar power unit by investing $253 million to enlarge a solar cell factory in Eumseong, South Korea. This was just a start, said HHI’s CEO, Min Keh-sik.

“Our goal,” he stated, “is to make Hyundai Heavy Industries the center of the international photovoltaic industry.”

Hyundai 1.65 MW Wind Turbine

HHI also expanded into wind power. This March the company finished building the largest (of course) wind turbine factory in Korea, and has since announced joint deals in China and Pakistan.

(Hyundai Motor Company — the branch of Hyundai that most Americans know and that separated from the Hyundai group in 2000 — recently announced its own plans to green up. GreenBiz reported last week that Hyundai Motor America had set a target of 50 mpg for its entire car and light truck fleet by 2025.)

South Korea’s move into these renewable technologies, and nuclear power, is an outgrowth of a larger fact of Korean life. The country produces no oil, has little coal and only limited natural gas reserves. Combustion means imports (and global warming). The Korean government decided that the country’s future depended on renewables and nuclear power.

This quest for energy independence has led to a manufacturing boom and increased exports. In the first half of 2010, South Korea exported just over $2 billion in solar and wind energy-related products — twice the amount sent abroad in the first six months of 2009.

The country had redefined what it means to be an “energy powerhouse” said a government official in July. The term was previously reserved for countries with an abundance of oil and coal. Now, the official told the Korea Times, the key was next-generation energy sources.

“Under the new definition,” said Yoo Jae-ho, “I think Korea fits into the category of an energy powerhouse in consideration of its technological edge in renewable or nuclear power.”

The Arizona solar plants are an integral part of HHI’s strategy. The solar modules will be imported from Hyundai’s newly expanded plant in Eumseong, making Arizona a demonstration project of sorts.

“The deal will establish Hyundai as an international supplier of large-scale solar energy plants,” Kim Kweon-tae, COO of HHI’s electrical division, told a South Korean newspaper. “We will do our best to win additional orders of large plants in the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia.”

Partners in the venture are Nevada-based Matinee Energy and Korea-based LG Electronics.