Solar advocates take office at SRP

• SRP's new board members took office Monday
• The addition of two solar advocates to the board is the result of a vote last year
• SRP charges a demand fee on solar customers that solar advocates oppose

Three new Salt River Project board members took office Monday, including Nick Brown and Paul Hirt, two advocates for solar power who want to increase the public utility's use of renewable energy.

The clean-energy advocates were motivated to run for the board after the board members in February 2015 approved higher rates for solar customers.

The vote last year was 12-2 in favor of the new rates. With the new board members, that same vote would likely turn out 10-4 today in favor of the higher solar rates.

Brown is an energy consultant who moved to the area in 2011 to help ASU develop solar, and who previously worked at the Arkansas Department of Energy.

"We all have a common interest here," Brown said. "That is success and prosperity for the Valley, and for our children and grandchildren to have success as well. They will judge us on how well we manage the issues of today."

He said his key issues are greenhouse-gas emissions and climate change. Despite disagreeing with the majority of board members and their positions on renewable energy, Brown said he expects to have a positive working relationship with the board.

Hirt is an Arizona State University professor of history and sustainability who has lived in SRP territory since 2004. Hirt said he was excited to join the board after studying water and power history and policy for 25 years.

"It's a bit of a dream come true for me," he said.

In addition, Robert Arnett joined the board. He runs a tile importing business and has served on the SRP Council, a group of 30 elected officials who set broad policy for the organization.

Arnett joins his father on the board. William Arnett previously ran a taxicab business and has served on the SRP board since 1976.

MORE: Solar advocates win seats on SRP board

In addition to the three newcomers, four incumbents were re-elected to the board.

SRP President David Rousseau congratulated the new board members on winning challenging elections, and applauded the work they put into their campaigns.

"Your effort shows the underlying value of the institution," he said.

RELATED: How we got here: Arizona's rooftop-solar industry

SRP also recognized long-serving board members Fred Ash and Arthur Freeman, who served in SRP governance for 36 and 20 years, respectively.

Ash was defeated in the election by Brown. Freeman decided to retire and Robert Arnett won his seat in a contested election with Kevin Rogers, president of the Arizona Farm Bureau.

Hirt and Brown were elected to "at-large" seats that represent the entire SRP territory, not distinct districts. The at-large members serve on the board of the electric utility only, not the water utility, which meets separately.

Two other solar advocates running for governance positions lost their races in acreage-based districts, where landowners get one vote per acre they own.

Winning election to the SRP board is notoriously difficult for those outside the agricultural community or without family ties to the utility. Many board members are descendants of those who pledged land as collateral to build Roosevelt Dam.

SRP reported that 3,520 individuals voted, breaking the record of 3,179 votes casts in 2014 for the electric utility.

Hirt won by 106 votes in a race against farmer and rancher Christopher Dobson of Chandler, whose great grandfather and great-uncle were among the original SRP board members in the early 1900s.