The Phoenix Sun

Arizona Speaker of the House Rep. Kirk Adams

Yesterday, Speaker of the Arizona House, Republican Kirk Adams, sought to “set the record straight” and put the political crisis caused by HB 2701 behind him. First, he had to cowboy up and place the blame where it properly belonged.

If you guessed that Adams took some responsibility for the debacle, as the “leader of the House” (as he put it) and as one of the bill’s sponsors, well, you don’t know our Speaker.

It was all the media’s fault.

Setting the Record Straight

“Recent news stories have depicted the Arizona House of Representatives as being anti-solar energy,” Adams said. “I wish to set the record straight.”

In Thursday’s press release, Adams sought to dispel this media-created false image of an Arizona House “unconcerned about the development of emerging renewably [sic] energy technologies.”

Adams was very clear about the House’s record of supporting solar and other renewable energy sources. After speaking in generalities, Adams cited two bills by number as evidence that the House he leads is pro-renewable.

The passage last year of SB1403 further propelled Arizona to the forefront internationally as an attractive location for renewable energy companies.

Adams is dead right about SB1403 — it received international praise and showed that Arizona was serious about becoming the “capital of solar power.” And passing it in the House was a difficult but ultimately successful battle. Of course, it would have passed more easily if Speaker Adams had supported it. But he opposed SB1403, voting “No” on the bill he now touts as a shining example of Arizona’s commitment to renewable energy.

Sending a Clear Message

The Speaker’s reference to a second bill is even more confusing.

“We have not rested on our past accomplishments,” he assured the world, “and continue to move forward with legislation like HB2060.” That bill, Adams declared will “send a clear message to global industries: we want you in Arizona.”

The bill is titled, An Act Amending Section 41.511.23, Arizona Revised Statutes: Making an Appropriation: Relating to Public Conservation Monies.

If that doesn’t seem like a clear message of support for renewable energy, you needn’t bother reading the six page bill text. It doesn’t make the link with renewable energy any more understandable. HB2060 deals with moving money around between state funds for park operations and conservation land purchases. There’s no mention of renewable energy. Or energy of any kind.

Speaker Adams was unavailable to answer questions about how HB2060 relates to renewable energy.

Rep. Debbie Lesko, author of HB2701

What we’re left with is not terribly reassuring to supporters of renewable power thinking of bringing jobs to Arizona. All we know so far is that HB2701 was withdrawn after renewable power companies, utilities, hundreds of citizens and the major state papers, all condemned it — with some major solar businesses threatening to leave the state or to call off plans to move here, if the bill wasn’t killed.

Having the bill withdrawn was a good thing. But let’s call it what it was: a panicked cut-our-losses response to a rapidly deteriorating political situation for the state Republican party.

Speaker Adams’ press release isn’t so much an effort to “set the record straight” as it as an attempt to throw a cover over a record too unpleasant to be seen — least of all, by voters.

AZ State Capital Bldg

“I’m going to thoroughly enjoy my moment of sunshine - for about twenty minutes.”

Senator Barbara Leff

That’s how AZ State Senator Barbara Leff (R-11) described her feelings to the Phoenix Sun, moments after her renewable energy bill passed the senate by a vote of 16-12.”We’re only half-way there,” she added, referring to the coming battle in the House. “I’m going to take some deep breaths and then start lobbying House members.”

Leff wants the bill assigned to the House Commerce Committee which is chaired by Michele Reagan (R-10), a supporter of the legislation. That decision will likely be made tomorrow by House Speaker Kirk Adams (R-19) his office tells the Sun.

Leff had previously believed that the larger battle over SB 1403 would come in the Senate, but she emphasizes that she’s not taking any House votes for granted.

“Companies pit one state against another to see who can give them the best incentives,” says Leff, explaining that she understands why some legislators are against the bill. “That often raises the stakes to attract businesses to your state. At what point are the stakes simply too high? I’d rather avoid giving these incentives, too.” In a perfect world, Leff says, it would be easy to hang on to ideological purity. “But this is reality. The stakes are too high for Arizona, and the potential for job growth is too important” to be sacrificed to any ideology.

AZ Department of Commerce: “Solar job growth vitally important” to Arizonans

The Arizona Department of Commerce agrees with Leff on the importance of job growth in the solar sector.

Commerce spokesman David Drennon says that while he can’t comment on SB 1403 in particular (since it’s still pending in the House), “We have to be competitive with other states in bringing these high paying jobs to Arizona. We’ve got to get Arizona back to work and this sector is vitally important.”

Drennon adds that while there have been some recent successes in solar manufacturers moving to the state, “more needs to be done” by the state to ensure that this job sector continues to grow.

Earlier:

The Arizona state Senate voted 16-12 today to approve a landmark solar bill that backers say will attract manufactures of solar PV panels, thermal solar equipment, and other businesses that make renewable energy products.

The bill, AZ 1403, is titled “The Quality Jobs Through Renewable Energy bill.” In speaking for her legislation, Senator Barbara Leff (R), today repeatedly stressed that “this bill is about jobs.”

Opponents voiced fears that taxpayer money would be lost on solar incentives with nothing to show for the expense. One of those voting against SB 1403, Senator Ken Cheuvront (D), said that if the bill does become law he hopes supporters will prove him wrong.

The bill now moves on to the House.

For more on SB 1403 (twitter #AZ1403), see our earlier stories here and here.

Click on image to download text of SB 1403

After a short debate that at times turned testy, the Arizona state senate today approved a major solar bill, clearing the way for a final vote early next week.

SB 1403, “The Quality Jobs Through Renewable Energy bill” is sponsored by Republican Senator Barbara Leff, a 12-year veteran of the Arizona legislature. The bill would extend tax credits and other incentives to manufactures of renewable energy systems that move into the state.

Supporters (who range from the local Sierra Club chapter to the Arizona Contractors Association) say the bill is needed to help level the playing field among states trying to woo these businesses. New Mexico and Oregon already have large incentive packages, and while the Arizona bill doesn’t equal them, provisions contained in the bill would help close the gap.

The Sun covered the debate live, using twitter, under the hashtag #AZ1403.

Leff spoke passionately in defense of her bill. When another Senator complained that government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers among businesses, Leff said her bill targets a sector — renewable energy manufacturing — not a business and told her colleagues, “Shame on us if we don’t do this…we should be the number one state for solar, maybe number one in the world.”

While Leff pointed out that the bill includes all forms of renewable energy, the legislation will likely help solar manufactures most, and, more specifically, makers of large scale solar products of the kind used for solar farms.

Senator Ron Gould (R), asked some of the most pointed questions (although he admitted he hadn’t read the bill closely). Gould said that people were being deceived about how photovoltaic technology works. The desert heat, he said, makes PV panels 20% less efficient. Gould is almost certainly right that most solar proponents don’t know that heat lowers the efficiency of standard PV. I have no idea where he got his figure of 20%, however, and its use without context is misleading.

It’s true that as temperatures rise, electrical efficiency drops. But many other factors can either offset that drop or increase it.

Click on the image to download the text of SB 1403

For example, Phoenix has more sunny days than almost anyplace else in the nation. Also, a solar panel on a clear day in Phoenix when the temperature is 100° F can provide more electricity than an identical panel at 75° on a cloudy day somewhere else. The type of panel used also makes a large difference. Older traditional PV captures less sunlight in dim conditions (early and late in the day) than newer thin-film panels, which also capture reflected and scattered light better (the trade-off is that they need more space — but they’re far cheaper to manufacture).

Too, solar technology is going through a fundamental shift. It’s too early to know what the dominant technology for converting solar energy into electricity is going to be, but at the moment concentrated solar power is a hot item (pun unintended, but accepted). Giant mirrors focus and intensify light onto pipes filled with oil, heating it to 700° F. The heated liquid boils water which turns turbines and generates electricity. The hotter the air temperature, the more electricity this technology produces.

This may be far more than you wanted to know about solar technology, but what is important to keep in mind is that Senator Gould’s observation about temperature and solar power was glib and misleading. It was also irrelevant, since SB 1403 deals only with manufacturing of renewable energy products, not with generating electricity, a point Leff had to clarify many times.

In the end, of course, all that mattered was the vote. SB passed by a 2-1 margin and now moves to final consideration by the Senate next week, carrying endorsements from the statewide paper, area leaders and, most important, momentum.