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Kristin Mayes is the second presenter in the UA's Sustainability Speaker Series.

By Johnny Cruz, University Communications
September 30, 2008

Arizona was one of the first states in the nation to implement a renewable energy requirement for its utility companies.

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kristin Mayes will speak at The University of Arizona campus this Thursday about the state's Renewable Energy Standard, or RES, which the Commission adopted in 2006.

Mayes' lecture is the second in the UA's Sustainability Speaker Series and takes place Thursday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. in Room 103 at the Center for English as a Second Language.

She will review Arizona's RES, discuss some of the projects that it has generated in recent years and review future policy solutions that she says "can make Arizona a solar state."

In 2001, Arizona's Environmental Portfolio Standard, or EPS, was initiated to promote the use and development of renewable energy. Building on the EPS, the Arizona Corporation Commission adopted the RES in 2006.

The RES rules require regulated utilities in Arizona to generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025. Eligible renewable resources include solar, wind, biomass, biogas, geothermal and other similar technologies to generate clean energy.

In addition to utility-owned projects, the Commission required that a set percentage of the total resource portfolio come from distributed generation. Since the adoption of the RES rules, Arizona has made steady progress.

Solar energy is expected to comprise two-thirds of Arizona's renewable energy, which Mayes says will be able to power about 500,000 homes in 2025. "Solar energy is going to be the engine of Arizona's renewable energy future," Mayes said. "We knew that when we were developing the renewable energy standard."

Mayes said two projects in particular reflect Arizona's transition to a solar state. The City of Tucson used RES funding to develop the Pennington Street Garage, the city's first solar-powered parking facility, in downtown Tucson. And Frito-Lay installed a 201-kilowatt solar power system at its largest U.S. distribution center and production facility in Casa Grande. "They are using the sun to make Sun Chips," Mayes said.

According to Mayes, universities will play a significant role in helping Arizona meet its Renewable Energy Standard. "It is my hope that in the next couple of years that we will take some of the RES funding and give it to the universities to do research and development on solar energy," Mayes said. She cited a study being conducted by the UA's Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy, which is measuring the economic and environmental impact of the RES, as a compelling resource for policymakers.

Arizona was one of the first states to pass standards for renewable energy, beginning with its Solar Portfolio Standard, which was the precursor to the EPS and the RES. "Our standard is the most aggressive in the country for the number of solar rooftops that it will spur," Mayes said. "Arizona will have, on a per capita basis, more solar rooftops than any state in the country."

Mayes was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission in October 2003. She has devoted much of her time since the appointment to pipeline safety, renewable energy and natural gas issues.

The Sustainability Speaker Series is being organized by the UA's campus sustainability committee and is co-sponsored by the colleges of Science and Engineering.

Glenn Schrader, professor and head of the UA chemical and environmental engineering department and chair of the campus sustainability committee, said he is looking to engage the general public by discussing common-sense solutions to the energy debate.

"The idea for the series came from the standpoint of how we address the area of sustainability and the rising energy crisis," Schrader said. "Looking at these problems together is a goal of the series."

The Sustainability Speaker Series is expected to feature one public lecture each month throughout the 2008-2009 academic year. Future speakers include Raymond Orbach, the under secretary for science in the U.S. Department of Energy.