Leaders at Arizona Public Service (APS) recently found that grid solar-power generation is more cost-effective and beneficial than residential rooftop solar power, a key finding because solar power is an important part of the energy future of Arizona.

Arizona, an ideal place for solar power because it has over 300 days of sunshine each year, has been named as second in the nation for its total solar energy capacity.

The latest reports from Harvard, MIT, and the Brattle Group show that there are additional environmental and economic benefits from grid-scale solar power generation compared to residential rooftop solar generation. Grid-scale centers are solar farms that are able to track and adjust for the sun’s rays as the earth orbits the sun.

“At APS, we understand how important solar is to our customers and to our state,” APS Vice President of Resource Management Tammy McLeod said. “We also understand the importance of the environmental benefits solar power brings. Our question is: why pay more for the same sun?”

APS’s goal is to determine the best ways to gather solar power in the cheapest way for solar consumers.

“We’ve seen purchase agreements for grid-scale solar of five cents per kilowatt-hour or less,” McLeod said. “We pay nearly three times that to purchase from rooftop solar.”