1. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
Initial thoughts on building
a solar narrative for Arizona
Melissa DeLaney
Janet Holston
Jeffrey Luth
Duke Reiter

2. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
FOUR
ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS:
• What
is
the
Message?
• Who
are
the
Audiences?
• What
en-ty
should
be
the
Owner?
• How
should
the
message
be
Delivered?

3. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
CONTEXT
RECOGNITION:
What
are
the
likely
issues
shaping
the
discussion
in
the
near
future?
• The
economy:
naAonal
and
regional
• Poli-cal
environment
• Local
success
stories
asunews.asu.edu/20120312_video_campus_solarization

4. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
CONTEXT
RECOGNITION:
How
do
we
achieve
cohesion
among
the
many
well-­‐
inten-oned
solar
supporters?
Arizona’s
exis-ng
Solar
Narra-ve
is
highly
fragmented
in
content
&
delivery,
which
dilutes
the
impact.
This
is
a
sampling
of
the
higher
profile
solar
organiza-ons
and
ini-a-ves
in
Arizona.
There
are
more.

5. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
CONTEXT
RECOGNITION:
Solar
Industry
arAcle
top
ten
2012
factors:
• Lethargic
State
Economies
Delay
Pro-­‐Solar
Policies
• U-lity-­‐Scale
Solar
Market
will
see
Growth
• Module
Prices
will
Fall
–
Good
and
Bad
News
• Con-nued
Industry
Consolida-on
• Solarworld
Trade
Case
Against
China
• No
Meaningful
Na-onal
Policy
• Net-­‐Metering
Policies
Under
Fire
• Downstream
Cost
Reduc-ons
• Con-nued
SREC
Vola-lity
• Northeastern
States
Expand
Market
Share

6. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
MESSAGE
AND
SCOPE:
What
is
the
appropriate
and
most
effec-ve
approach?
• Avoid
the
poli-cal
• Keep
it
simple
• Make
it
compelling
• Stress
the
posi-ves
• Don’t
threaten
tradi-onal
energy

7. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
MESSAGE
POSSIBILITIES:
• Arizona
has
U.S.
best
solar
resource.
Our
sunlight
can
power
the
electricity
needs
of
the
en-re
U.S.
• Huge
export
opportunity
.
.
.
Arizona
is
next
door
to
one
of
the
largest
solar
markets
in
the
world
• Solar
energy
has
already
created
16000
thousand
jobs
and
$2
billion
economic
impact
for
Arizona
(Pollack,
2012)
• The
sun’s
energy
is
free
and
renewable.
The
costs
are
declining
every
year
• Solar
energy
is
clean
.
.
.
no
emissions
.
.
.
no
need
to
mine
or
transport
feedstocks
• Solar
power
genera-on
requires
licle
or
no
water
• Solar
electricity
feeds
into
the
grid,
just
like
coal,
gas,
wind
and
hydro-­‐generated
electricity

8. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
A
SPECTRUM
OF
AUDIENCES:
• Consumers
• U-li-es
• Policy
makers
• Manufacturers
• Project
Developers
• Installers
• Technology
Developers
• Service
Professionals
• Economic
Developers

9. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
DELIVERY
RESPONSIBILITY:
What
en-ty,
if
any,
should
be
charged
with
the
responsibility
of
carrying
out
the
narra-ve
plan
and
coordina-ng
an
inclusive
and
compelling
message?
• Government
offices/agencies
• Economic
development
en--es
• Business
organiza-ons
• Industry
leaders
• Community
groups
• Others

10. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative

11. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
DELIVERY
ALTERNATIVES:
Tradi-onal
campaign
.
.
.
or
perhaps
a
completely
different
grassroots
approach?
• Guerilla
campaign
• Social
media
driven
• Leverage
technology
• Keep
costs
to
a
minimum

12. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
PRECEDENTS:
What
can
be
learned
from
comparable
campaigns?
• Siemens
Energy
• IBM
Smart
Ci-es
• Pickens
• Clean
coal
• BP
• ASU
solar

13. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative

14. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative

15. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
CAMPAIGN
APPROACH:
A
test
campaign?
• $50,000
to
$100,000
over
a
4-­‐6
month
period
• Targeted
to
most
impachul
geographic
areas
of
the
state
• Goal
is
to
create
solar
“army”
• Measure
the
impact
of
various
tac-cs
for
determining
next
steps
for
a
statewide
campaign.

16. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
NEXT
STEPS:
• Designate
group
or
collec-on
of
individuals
to
help
develop
the
narra-ve.
• Hire
a
professional
to
do
the
appropriate
analy-cs,
planning
and
execu-on.
• Determine
funds
available/needed
to
ini-ate
and
carry
out
the
plan.
• Build
coali-on
of
partners
to
launch
and
back
the
effort.
Thoughts from the audience?

17. - Towards an AZ Solar Narrative
Thank you.