According to Freeing the Grid, a new report authored by the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) in collaboration with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the Vote Solar Initiative and the Solar Alliance, Arizona falls short on its solar policies, particularly in net metering.
The report, which grades states on the quality of their net metering and interconnection standards, says Arizona's policies are lacking in comparison to nearly every other state in the U.S.
‘Without exception, significant deployment of clean, customer-sited distributed generation occurs only in states with modern interconnection and net metering policies,’ the report says.
New Jersey leads the nation, with an A grade for net metering and a B for interconnection. Arizona, which does not have a statewide net metering standard, receives the equivalent of a dropped class.
‘When you think of solar, you don't necessarily think of states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania,’ remarks Kyle Rabin, director at NNEC. ‘Yet those states, with their great net metering rules, are doing more to encourage solar growth than Arizona.’
‘Since Arizona doesn't have a state policy, utilities are free to craft their own. And local utilities have set the bar very low,’ adds Adam Browning, executive director of the Vote Solar Initiative. ‘This is the main barrier to solar energy’s development in the state.’
The full report can be downloaded HERE.
