STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Community partnerships promote benefits of clean energy

When it comes to proponents of clean energy, the utilities and companies acting individually capture the most attention. But in Arizona, partnerships working behind the scenes are helping to shine a light on the benefits of this developing sector.

Since 1991, the nonprofit Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association has been in operation. More commonly known as AriSEIA, the trade organization currently represents the solar, storage and electrification industry; solar-friendly businesses; and others interested in advancing solar and complementary technologies in Arizona. AriSEIA recently held it 2022 Arizona Energy Future: Innovation, Technology & Economic Opportunity Conference at Arizona State University.

The Arizona group is a state chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.

AriSEIA’s mission is to develop and support policies that create opportunities advancing Arizona’s economy through solar energy, storage and electrification. The group accomplishes its mission by educating the public and key decision makers about the entities it represents. It advocates sustainable job creation in deployment of solar and complementary technologies and collaborates with stakeholders to encourage use of Arizona’s greatest natural resource: the sun.

More recently, the nonprofit Arizona Sustainability Alliance (AZSA) was launched in 2017 to create and support cutting-edge, project-based sustainability solutions in Arizona through civic engagement, collaboration and education.

Its objectives are to promote sustainable energy by strategically implementing renewable energy projects in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area while creating community events aimed at demystifying renewable energy and promoting the overall growth of sustainable energy. AZSA also educates the public about renewable energy in creative, innovative and interactive ways through projects that also incorporate community health and beautification.

AZSA’s projects include:

Arizona Clean Energy Workforce Development Program – The project focuses on providing essential job skills to students from disadvantaged communities and contributing to the clean energy revolution. By partnering with Title I school districts, public and private partners and industry professional certification programs, this project provides students with job skills in a variety of clean energy sector pathways. The project includes creating workforce development training in energy management, building science, distributed energy resources installation and maintenance, and adaptive design for resilience.

Female Veterans Housing Solar Installation – The project involves cross-sector collaboration and partnership of the Arizona Sustainability Alliance, Habitat for Humanity and the U.S. Veterans Initiative to install solar panels on two new homes that will support female veterans with a safe, sober living environment where they can receive treatment for military sexual trauma and substance abuse, as well as work re-entry counseling and assistance in receiving disability payments.

East Valley Solar Co-Op – In 2019 AZSA partnered with Solar United Neighbors of Arizona to launch a community solar coop that resulted in 16 contracts. That is a 40% conversion rate, above the targeted 30%. The expectation was to install 91.5 kilowatts-DC of solar capacity. Over their lifetime, these solar installations will produce about 2.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity. This also is the equivalent of about 1,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide being avoided.

To learn more, go to ariseia.org for AriSEIA and azsustainabilityalliance.com for AZSA.