Reaching for the sun just got more expensive

The good news for Arizona’s utilities is that they’re on target to hit the state’s goal for renewable energy.

The tough news: That goal is about to move a lot higher.

The Arizona Corporation Commission wants state-regulated utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from solar, wind and other renewable sources by 2025. It expected them to be at 6 percent by next year.

EDITORIAL: Clean Power Plan better, but still costly

They all report they’ll be there. But it looks like a power greater than the Corporation Commission is about to shake things up. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan will require the nation as a whole to use considerably more renewable energy, and there’s no way to get there without sunny Arizona stepping up its game.

It is doable. The state’s utilities have shown ingenuity in getting where they are now. But there will need to be adjustments.

The Corporation Commission, utilities and rooftop solar companies need to settle issues involving sharing the costs of the grid. Today, that stands as the largest impediment to the growth of rooftop solar.

The commission also should revisit its definition of “distributed generation,” the technical term for rooftop. Tucson Electric Power, for instance, is working on community-scale solar projects.

These are centrally located solar arrays that provide power to a neighborhood or subdivision, a more efficient and perhaps smarter approach that lots of individual rooftop installations. But the Corporation Commission’s definition doesn’t count community-scale projects toward a utility’s goal. It should.

Indeed, flexibility should be the commission’s goal. Innovation will be necessary to boost renewable power, even in a state with the natural resources of Arizona. We have a good start, but there’s so much more to do.