Nation’s Largest Solar Plant Credits “Big Government”

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The announcement that an Arizona utility would build a solar power plant nearly twice as large as the current US record-holder barely made a blip on the national media radar yesterday. That’s nuts. It’s not quite as nutty as the word swirling around Washington that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is waffling on taking up a climate bill this year.

But, still, nutty. And ironic.

I talked with Joe Salkowski, a spokesman for Tucson Electric Power (TEP), the utility planning the 25-MW array outside of Tucson, Arizona. He says that state and federal policies like the ones contained in the House climate bill “make this project possible.”

How?

First, a state requirement that by 2025 utilities generate 15% of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar power.

On the federal level, he points to a couple of programs. Investment tax credits for renewable plants were vital to the decision, and so were low interest loans made through the Department of Energy.

So, Senator Reid: quit listening to those whiners about Big Government taking over America, and start paying attention to what’s actually happening on the American ground, thanks to the support of Bold Government.

For more, see here.

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Osha Gray Davidson is a contributing blogger at Mother Jones and publisher of The Phoenix Sun, an online news service reporting on solar energy. He tweets @thephoenixsun.