[img_assist|nid=1579|title=U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=160|height=187]TUCSON -- The Southern Arizona Solar Energy Development Conference, brought over 100 elected officials, industry leaders and public administrators to the Arizona Historical Society Monday, provided more than a comprehensive look at the state of solar energy development in southern Arizona. It was a public declaration of the strength of the solar movement among leading political figures, prefiguring a spate of potential battles to come between those who prioritize solar development and those who don’t.

Lawmakers and their election year opponents are debating the nation’s energy future in all 50 states and the nation’s capitol, with all agreeing that there is a looming crisis but with little consensus on solutions.

In southern Arizona, which experiences more sunshine than any other region in the nation, the political ramifications of solar development are serious. As expected, the race to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which oversees the state’s public utilities and is intimately involved in shaping Arizona’s energy policy, has and will continue to feature the question of renewable energy sources, solar chief among them.

Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

The issue’s biggest impact may be felt in the contest over the 8th Congressional District seat currently held by freshman Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson).

Giffords organized the conference, in conjunction with the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE), a project of the University of Arizona. Giffords’s staff helped run the event, and she herself delivered the opening and closing remarks. The drive to increase the use of renewable technologies to solve the nation’s energy crisis is at the center of Giffords’s political identity. It is a large part of her re-election campaign, and, as the National Republican Congressional Committee has chosen to focus on the energy crisis in their attacks against her, the solar issue will be as visible in the 8th district race as any other in 2008.

“Three of the biggest challenges we face today are the need to boost our economy and global competitiveness, reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, and address global warming,” said Giffords in her opening remarks to the conference. “I believe solar power offers an elegant solution to all of these challenges.”

The NRCC has sent out seven press releases over the last month savaging Giffords on the energy front. They argue Giffords and the majority Democrats in Congress have failed to provide relief to high gas prices. Rather than criticize her for her pro-solar stance, the NRCC slams her for not supporting the Republican “all of the above” solution, which combines renewable energy initiatives with the building of nuclear and clean coal plants and expanding domestic oil exploration.

Giffords, meanwhile, blamed the Senate for holding up several energy bills aimed at assisting the expansion of renewable development. The House, she noted, voted to extend the investment tax credit (ITC) for “green” energy technology. The ITC is roundly seen as being the lynchpin of solar energy’s future, especially when considering large scale projects such as the proposed Solana Generating Station, a $1 billion project that would cover three square miles of desert near Gila Bend with solar panels. Advocates of the project say that without the ITC, Solana “simply cannot happen,” in the words of Antonia Bouchard, the Renewable Energy Advisor to Arizona Public Service, who addressed the conference on the topic of Solana.

“Now is the time to start putting pressure on the U.S. Senate,” said Giffords.

Giffords’s congressional challenger, state Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson), has not been as out front about the solar question. Under his leadership, the state Senate passed a bill that extended lower property tax valuations for renewable energy equipment, keeping the rate at 20 percent of what the equipment would normally be assessed otherwise. However, an omnibus energy bill that passed the House, which, among other measures, would have mandated that 15 percent of the state’s electricity be generated through renewable means by 2025, stalled in the Senate. Because the legislature has adjourned, the bill won’t be taken up until 2009, if at all.

The Arizona Corporation Commission

That portion of the bill dealing with the renewable energy generation mandate was intended to back up an identical order by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Depending on a court challenge and the election in the fall, the mandate might not exist by the time the Legislature reconvenes.

As reported in the Arizona Daily Star, The Goldwater Institute filed a suit in the Arizona Supreme Court trying to overturn the order:

“Legal papers filed by the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute contend that the Arizona Corporation Commission, which enacted the mandate, exceeded its constitutional authority. The lawsuit filed by the conservative think tank asks the high court to void not only the commission rules but also the surcharge already being paid by utility customers.”

The Star reported ACC Commissioner Kris Mayes, who supports the mandate, said: “It's not in the public interest to allow the utilities to continue down a suicidal path of relying on fossil fuels and foreign sources of energy. To do so would be to abdicate our duty."

There are three ACC seats being vacated this year, and the composition of the commission after November’s election will determine whether the order stays in place or gets repealed.

Eight Republicans and four Democrats are running, and though support for the mandate is strong in a lot of the field, half of the Republicans say they would prefer it be repealed. Particularly the team of Rick Fowlkes, Joseph Hobbs and Keith Swapp, who are all retired engineers and bill their joint campaign the “Qualified ACC Team,” oppose the order, as does fellow candidate John Allen.

As evidenced by the presence of Bill Mundell, a Republican on the commission who spoke in support of the order before the conference audience, the issue isn’t a strictly partisan one. State Reps. Bob Robson (R-Chandler) and Bob Stump (R-Peoria) and state Sen. Marian McClure (R-Tucson), the other Republican team in the race, and solo candidate Barry Wong all support the mandate to varying degrees as well. Still, two other conference attendees said they believed the solar and renewable energy debate would help give Democratic candidates for the ACC the edge over their Republican rivals.

“We’re going to win,” grinned Sam George, a former deputy Arizona secretary of state and one of a team of three Democrats vying for the open seats. George and Paul Newman, who is currently the District 2 supervisor on the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, are running with Sandra Kennedy, and all have made a commitment to renewables foremost among their positions.

Arizona’s Local Solutions

If there is any universal acceptance of solar energy as an immediately desirable alternative to other means of electricity production, it is to be found on the local level. Much of the conference was devoted to looking at how towns and cities have been incorporating solar energy and efficiency systems into their growth plans.

Several mayors and city council members were at the conference, from both parties. Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, a Republican, gave the opening remarks at the conference, and put the spotlight on his city’s turn toward solar. According to Walkup, a planned multi-stage project on city-owned land in Avra Valley would eventually utilize both photovoltaic and thermal solar power to generate over 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power Tucson and surrounding towns. While that level of production is a ways off, Walkup and Bruce Plenk, Tucson’s Solar Energy Coordinator, anticipate solar will contribute at least two megawatts to the grid by 2009, partially through installing solar panels on seven city buildings.

Over 100 miles to the north, Scottsdale is engaged in a similar project. Mary Manross, the mayor of Scottsdale, touted her city’s plans and achievements. The Democrat spoke of the “utility partnership” Scottsdale had formed, with an eye toward incorporating the principles of “efficiency and sustainability” in the construction and maintenance of city facilities. However, Manross also spoke of the resistance that could be met in trying to implement these plans.

“It takes a while – there are all these incremental steps,” she said. Rather than expect citizens to fall in line behind the idea of sustainability, said Manross, “you’ve got to bring your city along.”

Rep. Giffords ended the conference on a lofty note, reciting a line from Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” that is inscribed in the meeting room of the House Science and Technology Committee: “For I dipped into the future, far as human eye could see/Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be.”

“The vision is there,” said Giffords, “a vision of the future that is filled with solar energy, renewable energy. We’re just getting started.”