Research Outline

State Power Rankings

Goals

To complete the attached worksheet, including information on the identified states from the provided source as well as an estimate of the total number of owner-occupied, single-family homes in each state that have solar panels.

Early Findings

Information regarding solar power in Arizona has been entered into the attached spreadsheet.

Arizona

  • Arizona has an RSP of 15% by 2025, giving it a grade of C in this area.
  • The state has a solar carve-out of 2.25% by 2025, giving it a grade of B in this area.
  • Arizona has an average energy cost of $0.12/kWh, which is considered low.
  • There is no statewide net-metering standard or policy in Arizona.
  • Arizona received a grade of F on interconnection standards, indicating that the state does not have easy interconnections.
  • Incentives for installing solar panels do exist in Arizona, but have become more limited over time as utility companies come close to meeting the RPS standard.
  • Arizona gives a state tax credit of 25% of the cost of an installed solar panel system with a cap of $1000.
  • Sales of solar systems are exempt from sales tax in Arizona.
  • Homeowners in Arizona are exempt from an increase in property tax as a result of increased property value after installing solar panels.
  • Arizona does not have a low-income solar program.
  • The estimated payback period for installing solar in Arizona is 11 years.
  • No sources specifically addressing the number of owner-occupied units that have solar panels installed were located. It was found that approximately 12% of single-family homes in Arizona had solar panels at the end of 2019. Since the majority of single-family homes (64.8%) in Arizona are owner-occupied, we assumed that the rate of solar installation on owner-occupied single-family homes was similar to the rate for all single-family homes and used the following formula to estimate the information for row 15: 1,257,000 x .12 = 150,840.