While many cities around the country like Washington D.C. are making great strides in the development of solar energy, Arizona and Phoenix in particular were leading markets that are now falling behind in the industry.

Part of the reason for this change may be the increasing costs for residential producers of solar power, but policies adopted by the utilities and the state are the main driving force in this developing field.

To talk more about the impact of solar energy policy we were joined by Dan Shawan, a visiting fellow at the independent research group Resources For The Future to talk about how rapidly the industry is changing and if Arizona risks falling behind if these kind of trends continue.

The business of rooftop solar has been a hotly debated one in Arizona recently as utilities have tried to adjust net metering programs. That refers to plans under which solar customers get credits from utilities for the power they send back to the grid.

This week, the group Environment Arizona released a report which shows solar customers provide more benefit than they get. Bret Fanshaw is the group’s Solar Program Coordinator.