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REFERENCE TITLE: plug in solar energy; requirements |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026
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SB 1606 |
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Introduced by Senators Kuby: Alston, Diaz, Epstein, Gabaldón, Miranda, Ortiz, Sundareshan; Representative Garcia
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AN ACT
amending title 30, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 9; amending title 40, chapter 2, article 1, arizona revised statutes, by adding SECTION 40-207; amending section 44-1761, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 44, chapter 11, article 11, arizona revised statutes, by adding section 44-1765; relating to solar power.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 30, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 9, to read:
CHAPTER 9
SOLAR ENERGY
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
30-1101. Portable solar generation devices; requirements; liability; definition
A. A public power entity may not require a customer that uses a portable solar generation device to:
1. Obtain approval before installing or using the portable solar generation device.
2. Pay a fee or charge.
3. Install additional controls or equipment beyond what is integrated into the system.
B. A public power entity is not liable for damages in any civil action for any injury or death due to a customer's operation of a portable solar generation device if an electric utility disconnects power.
C. For the purposes of this section, "portable solar generation device":
1. Means a moveable photovoltaic generation device that:
(a) Has a maximum power output of not more than one thousand two hundred watts.
(b) Is designed to be connected to a building's electrical system through a standard one hundred twenty volt alternating current outlet.
(c) Is intended primarily to offset part of the customer's electricity consumption.
(d) Meets the standards of the most recent version of the national electrical code.
(e) Is certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.
(f) Is listed and labeled in compliance with a national standards institute.
2. Does not include:
(a) a generating facility.
(b) A distributed generation facility.
(c) A net metering facility.
(d) A Cord and plug distributed energy device that either:
(i) Operates within an electrical capacity envelope as established by the commission in rule.
(ii) Is capable of exporting electricity to the premises' wiring and when authorized, to the electric grid.
Sec. 2. Title 40, chapter 2, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 40-207, to read:
40-207. Portable solar generation devices; requirements; liability; definition
A. A public service corporation may not require a customer that uses a portable solar generation device to:
1. Obtain approval before installing or using the portable solar generation device.
2. Pay a fee or charge.
3. Install any additional controls or equipment beyond what is integrated into the system.
B. A public service corporation shall recognize national interoperability profiles and programs that enable secure participation of plug-in solar energy resources in aggregated or managed programs.
C. A public service corporation is not liable for damages in any civil action for any injury or death due to a customer's operation of a portable solar generation device if an electric utility disconnects power.
D. For the purposes of this section, "portable solar generation device":
1. Means a moveable photovoltaic generation device that:
(a) Has a maximum power output of not more than one thousand two hundred watts.
(b) Is designed to be connected to a building's electrical system through a standard one hundred twenty volt alternating current outlet.
(c) Is intended primarily to offset part of the customer's electricity consumption.
(d) Meets the standards of the most recent version of the national electrical code.
(e) Is certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.
2. Does not include a generating facility, distributed generation facility or net metering facility.
Sec. 3. Section 44-1761, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
44-1761. Definitions
In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Collector" means a component of a solar energy device that is used to absorb solar radiation, convert it to heat or electricity and transfer the heat to a heat transfer fluid or to storage.
2. "Distributed energy generation system":
(a) Means a device or system that is used to generate or store electricity, that has an electric delivery capacity, singly or in connection with other similar devices or systems, greater than one kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour, and that is primarily for on-site energy consumption.
(b) Does not include either:
(i) An electric generator that is intended for occasional use.
(ii) A portable solar generation device as defined in section 30-1101 or 40-207.
3. "Energize" or "energized" means that the distributed energy generation system is installed and operational for its intended purposes of generating or storing electricity.
4. "Heat exchanger" means a component of a solar energy device that is used to transfer heat from one fluid to another.
5. "Interconnected" or "interconnection" means a distributed energy generation system that is connected to the power grid and that is able to transfer electricity to the power grid.
6. "Seller or marketer" means an individual or a company acting through its officers, employees or agents that markets, sells or solicits the sale, financing or lease of distributed energy generation systems or negotiates or enters into agreements for the sale, financing or lease of distributed energy generation systems.
7. "Solar daylighting" means a device that is specifically designed to capture and redirect the visible portion of the solar beam spectrum, while controlling the infrared portion, for use in illuminating interior building spaces in lieu of artificial lighting.
8. "Solar energy device":
(a) Means a system or series of mechanisms that is designed primarily to provide heating, to provide cooling, to produce electrical power, to produce mechanical power, to provide solar daylighting or to provide any combination of the foregoing by means of collecting and transferring solar generated energy into such uses either by active or passive means. Such systems may also have the capability of storing such energy for future utilization. Passive systems shall clearly be designed as a solar energy device such as a trombe wall and not merely a part of a normal structure such as a window.
(b) Includes a distributed energy generation system.
Sec. 4. Title 44, chapter 11, article 11, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 44-1765, to read:
44-1765. Portable solar generation device
A portable solar generation device as defined in section 30-1101 or 40-207 shall include a device or feature that prevents the system from energizing the building's electrical system during a power outage.