Regulators approve TEP renewables plan
State regulators on Tuesday approved Tucson Electric Power Co.’s 2016 renewable-energy plan, minus some controversial proposals.
The Arizona Corporation Commission approved a 2016 program budget of $56.6 million, including $9.4 million for company-owned renewable-energy projects and expansion of an energy-storage pilot project. TEP and other state-regulated power companies are mandated to expand their use of renewable energy to 15 percent of their power sales by 2025.
Under the 2016 plan, a monthly surcharge that pays for renewable-energy programs would increase to an average of $4.17 per month for the typical TEP residential customer, up from $3.22 per month. The cap on the surcharge for home customers is $4.76 per month.
But regulators separated out two requests from TEP that would expand its company-owned solar installations for action as part of the utility’s pending rate case.
One would expand a program in which TEP installs utility-owned solar photovoltaic systems on customers’ rooftops in exchange for fixed energy charges for 25 years, while the other proposal would allow TEP to launch a new community-based solar program.
As part of the plan approved Tuesday, TEP also will enter into long-term agreements with two developers for the construction of two 10-megawatt energy-storage systems.
Paragon Space, partner win NASA contract
Tucson-based Paragon Space Development Corp. and partner Thin Red Line Aerospace have won a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award from NASA to provide technology that will extend the life of cryogenic upper-stage rockets.
Cryogenic rockets use fuel that has been liquefied and stored at very low temperatures.
The companies will work on an insulating structure to allowing the rocket systems to operate for weeks or months on orbit, rather than their typical useful life of a few hours. Terms of the award were not available. Such contracts are typically worth up to $150,000.
