Flagstaff (May 11) – The first stop on the Tour had audiences cheering the launch of The APS Community Power Project, which will offer Flagstaff customers the opportunity to join a “free” pilot solar energy program. Under the program, APS will own and receive energy from solar panels installed on about 300 customer rooftops. Participating customers will receive an attractive 20-year fixed Community Power Rate for the solar portion of their electricity bill. More important, participants will not have any up-front costs or other requirements – just a desire to support this clean, renewable energy source. In essence, APS is building an interconnected solar power plant – one rooftop at a time.

Grand Canyon (May 18) – The second stop of the ’09 Tour brought together two of the state’s most recognizable features – the Grand Canyon and the sun. It was here that APS celebrated with an international audience (including visitors from Japan and Germany) as the Canyon’s Visitor Center went “solar.”

Phoenix (May 22) – Saving perhaps its best performance for last, the APS team played an emotional encore in what fans and critics, alike, are hailing as an environmental masterpiece.

On the final stop of the ’09 Solar Tour, APS hit the stage at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and announced the addition of a new member: Starwood Solar I. When completed in 2013, the concentrating solar plant will assume the title of world’s largest solar facility. The plant, to be built in the Harquahala Valley about 75 miles west of Phoenix, will not only generate enough electricity to power 73,000 homes, but it will have an economic impact of nearly $3 billion during its two years of construction.