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>>> Coming up next on "Arizona
Horizon" -- the latest political
news in our weekly update with
the Arizona Capitol Times.
How researchers are working to
make solar energy more efficient
and we'll visit the artwork of
Dale Chihuly.
>> "Arizona Horizon" is made
possible by contributions from
the friends of 8, members of
your Arizona PBS station.
>> Good evening.
I'm Ted Simons.
The governor announced she will
not run for another term, a
curious pronouncement
considering the constitution
prohibits her from serving
another term.
Here to make sense of it all,
Ben Giles of the Arizona Capitol
Times.
Good to see you.
Sounds like the governor
announced the obvious.
What's going on?
>> This was not unexpected.
If you ask just about any
attorney in the state of Arizona
they would have told you
constitutionally even the
partial term that Governor
Brewer served when she replaced
Janet Napolitano, who left for
D.C., any lawyer would have told
you she can't run again but
she's been keeping everyone on
pins and needles for the last
couple of months, delaying
announcements about whether or
not she would try to challenge
this in court.
Today she still said she truly
believed if hi gone to court I
think I would have been
successful in arguing that I get
another crack at reelection.
>> why didn't she go to court?
>> I think it's time to move on,
as she said, she used the phrase
pass the torch.
She's done a lot at the capitol
with Medicaid expansion appeared
is still trying to do a lot this
year, she made clear her veto
stamp and pen have a lot of ink.
She wants to improve education
standards in Arizona.
That's going to be a big load at
the capitol this year.
She has her work cut out for her
but she can still be an
influence in coming years.
She has millions in campaign
covers that now she won't use.
>>> How did talk about another
term even get started when the
constitution seems quite clear
on this?
>> I think as we have seen
countless times at the capitol,
the lawmakers of any variety be
they the representatives in the
house or the Senators or
governor, they take a look at
the constitution and they
interpret it in ways that they
see fit.
I sit in Senate rules committees
all the time where attorneys
will raise constitutional
concerns about a bill and it's
acknowledged and the bill is
still voted forward because at
some point a lawmaker will
decide we think this is worth a
court challenge because we don't
agree with the interpretation of
the constitution.
>>> On we go.
Oversight ideas for this new
child abuse agency.
Sound like you've seen a draft
or ideas out there.
What kind of oversight can we
expect?
>> Seems like a lot more than
there is now.
There's been a group of
lawmakers, the governor's staff,
a couple of child -- experts in
the child welfare field have
been making appearances at these
weekly Friday meetings in the
governor's office drafting a
bill what they call the
independent department of child
safety an family services.
In the latest draft that we
received a copy of from the
march 7 meeting, the draft
explained that one of the things
they are considering is creating
a citizen oversight board which
would include constituents and
clients of the department to
have a say in the best practices
but also similar to something
that the uniform corrections
department has, an inspections
Brewer charged with ongoing
looking at quality assurance
issues within the department to
make sure that procedures are
being followed.
Then also to make sure those
procedures are the most
effective way to keep children
safe and protect children from
abuse.
>> it's the citizens oversight
board made up of what kind of
citizens?
>> The language specifically
says clients and constituents,
which I believe would mean
parents who have gone through a
child protective services
investigation.
Folks who have real life
experience with dealing with
cases of abuse and neglect.
I think constituents might be
some of the child safety an well
favor organizations in Arizona
that are already working to keep
children and vulnerable adults
safe.
>> I think you wrote the draft
could be ready for legislative
consideration by May 1.
Most folks thought that this was
going to be the lightning rod,
this was going to be the biggy
F. there was going to be a
problem this year that would be
it.
Now you're thinking common core
might be?
>> Could be.
That is at least it appears in
votes in the Senate last couple
of weeks.
That is an issue that seems to
be splitting the Republican
party in the Senate.
There was a bill sponsored by
Senator Al Melvin that would
have done away with the common
core standards in Arizona.
It was preliminarily approved
but there's one more vote in
each chamber before it passes,
and it was defeated 12-18.
Pretty resoundingly on the
Senate floor when you had five
Republicans vote against it plus
the 13 Democrats who are vocally
opposed to it.
This is an issue that Senate
president Biggs has taken a more
vocal role in this year.
He has been beating the drum
against common core.
Just today he pushed two more
anti-common core bills for
preliminary votes on the floor.
They did pass.
But I think the expectation is
with this strong backing of
common core, new standards, Ed
case standards from the business
community, that they too will be
defeated maybe in a similar
12-18 vote.
>> again it sounds like the
proverbial tempest in a teapot.
The governor is all for this
college and career ready
standard as common core is now
known.
They can put all the repeals
they want to her desk.
She's not going to sign those.
>> that's where there's been
rumors about how this could be
the Medicaid expansion of 2014,
an issue that dragged the budget
process along into the late
summer months and kept a lot of
us, lawmakers and reporters
included, longer here than we
wanted to be.
We were here until about mid- to
late June last year until the
governor finally called a
special session on Medicaid
expansion.
It's not really clear, but we'll
have to wait and see how long
folks are willing to drag their
feet on common core and the
budget as part of it.
>> Again, why is common core
such an anathema to some
factions in the Republican
party?
>> There is a narrative, a fear
that this is naturalizing as
neat president big said our
public education system in
Arizona, that states were
basically suckered into
accepting common core standards
when they accepted race to the
top funds from the federal
government several years ago.
However, there are signs that
this is a more state-based
consortium that is pushing these
standards.
For instance there's an
assessment test being developed
named park that education
secretary -- superintendent,
excuse me, John Huppenthal, is a
governing board member.
There are signs this is being
developed at a more state-based
level, but as we heard in the
Senate today, there are strong
arguments that local control is
the best way for education
standards and curriculum to be
developed.
Some of the bills are trying to
give local school districts a
bigger say in adopting the
standards.
>> That sounds like that one is
long from over.
Good to see you.
Thanks for joining us.
>> Thank you.
>>> Innovation looks at an ASU
research team studying ways to
make solar thermal energy more
efficient.
Assistance profiter Zachary
Holman joins us now.
It's good to have you here.
Before we get kind of fine
tuning here the energy
department's focus program.
What are we talking about here?
>> The Department of Energy has
a wing called the advanced
research project agency or ARPE.
They are funding a program to
try to increase the efficiency
of solar power on a utility
scale.
There's two main goals.
One to use all colors or
wavelengths of sunlight, the
other to have some storage
capability so that sunlight
during the day can generate
power during the night.
>> I know there are two kind of
twin research projects going on
here.
The $3.9 million one is for high
heat photovoltaic device
converting sunlight into
electricity.
That's a parallel tract to
yours, right?
>> We're fortunate to win two of
12 awards, completely different
approaches.
One was to have a photovoltaic
cell that light is concentrated
on.
That cell gets hot, generates
electricity and waste heat goes
to generating electricity from
the heat and project I'm working
on has a different approach
where we don't have hot PV cells
but rather we try to combine the
best of two existing mature
technologies, one of which we
call concentrating solar power,
those are the big mirrors like
the Solana plant in Gila bend.
The other is photovoltaics.
>> I want to make sure I get
this right.
You're putting these cells into
large reflectors, we're looking
at here, and these reflectors
generate the heat and power but
they also capture?
Is that what you're working on?
>> Exactly.
The picture that you have up
now, these are the large mirrors
like down at Gila bend.
You can think of this as
basically a more advanced
version of the lens that a kid
would use to burn a piece of
paper.
Focuses sunlight on to the tube
running horizontally in the
middle.
You generate a bunch of heat
that then powers a steam
turbine.
This is a conventional
concentrating solar power plant.
Our idea is to integrate
photovoltaics, which are the
blue colored things that you see
on people's roofs, on ASU's
roofs, for example, into the
mirrors.
Instead of having Silver
covering the back side of the
mirrors you have photovoltaic
cells.
The cells absorb some of the
sunlight and convert it to
electricity directly, and the
rest of the sunlight is focused
to that tube at the line focus,
the concentrator, where it
generates heat.
That heat can be stored and
converted to electricity at a
later point in time.
>> how do you store that heat?
I understand sounds like a nifty
concept.
How do you do it?
>> Sure.
Heat is a lot easier to store
than electricity.
Electricity we store in
batteries.
Batteries are expensive.
Heat, most common way is or a
way being investigated and will
be used at the Solana plant is
with molten salt.
You have very hot liquid salts
or molten salts and think of
them being in a big vat.
Think of it being a big thermos,
if you will.
You can put heat in there during
the day, put the molten salt in,
and if it's -- it basically acts
as a big thermos then at night
it will still be hot.
You can take the heat out, run a
steam turbine and generate
electricity from it.
>> So it can be either converted
or stored.
>> stored for the purpose of
conversion at a later time.
The advantage is a big problem
with solar power at least when
you go to lots of it, which
we're nowhere close to in the
U.S., but in Germany they
produce all of the power at noon
on a sunny day from
photovoltaics, from solar power.
The big problem is if they want
to add more they have to have
storage capacity.
This system has integrated
storage.
>> As far as the mirrors again,
this replaces those Silver
mirrors.
These mirrors are, what, half
mirror, half photovoltaic?
Hybrid kind of a thing?
>> It's a photovoltaic acting as
a mirror to some colors of
light.
To our eyes it would just look
like a black photovoltaic cell,
but with wavelengths of colors
of light we can't see, for
example U.V. or infrared, it
reflects light.
I think some animals can see
infrared, for example, we would
look at it and it would look
like a mirror rather than black
to our eyes, black or blue.
>> Interesting.
How expensive would it be to
retrofit some of these mirrors?
>> So the design we have come up
with, these new mirrors which we
call P.V. mirrors are supposed
drop in place of the existing
Silvered mirrors on plants like
Solana.
We expect a cost increase of
something like 30%.
However, the power output
increase is supposed to be 50%.
So cost increase 30%, power gain
That means you and I would see
cheaper electricity at our
homes.
>> I forgot to ask this.
How long when you say it's
stored, how long can that heat
be stored?
>> The Solana plant in Gila bend
is designed for six hours of
storage.
Our new system, hybrid system,
is design for ten hours of
storage.
So ten hours after the sun goes
down you could still be
generating electricity from that
stored sunlight.
>> basic I will if you got a
full week of rain in the
wintertime, which we all seem to
remember at one time we got
here, start getting concerned
toward the sixth, seventh day of
no sun?
>> Sure.
That will be true of all solar
power.
But our system has an advantage
over the traditional
concentrating solar power plants
like Gila bend.
You might remember when you were
a kid if you were trying to
focus sunlight with a lens you
always point it toward the sun.
The direct component of light
coming from the sun you can
focus.
If you were to point it at some
other blue part of the the sky
you can't focus enough light to
burn a piece of paper.
Same is true for mirrored lenses
but since our system has
photovoltaic cells on them and
they can accept sunlight from
any angle they can accept what
we call the diffuse component,
sunlight being scattered from
the ground or the clouds or
molecules in the atmosphere.
Basically they can generate
electricity even on cloudy days
although we won't get a lot of
heat in the pipe.
We do still have some benefit.
>> how far along this is
development?
>> We're actually just at the
beginning.
Things are still very exciting.
ARPE announced the awardees for
their focus program in February.
We're scheduled for a May 1
start date of our three-year
project.
>> Three-year project a pilot to
see how well it goes?
>> Absolutely.
ARPE doesn't fund fundamental
research rather they fund things
they expect to transition to
commercial products.
By the end of three years we
should have made three
prototypes increasing in size
until at the end of three years
we have a prototype that's large
enough to attract the attention
of big companies like AVENGOA,
who installed the Solana plant.
>> sounds fascinating and
encouraging.
Good information, good to have
you here.
Thanks for joining us.
>>> Tonight we make a return
visit to desert botanical garden
and the stunning glass artwork
of Dale Chihuly.
Producer Christina Estes and
photographer Juan Magana show us
how glass and the desert come
together at Papago park.
>> it's called the sapphire star
in the garden exhibit.
>> The colors are so vibrant.
There's no other artist in glass
doing what Dale is doing.
>> what he's doing in Phoenix is
generating OOHs, AAHs, and
questions.
>> what's a beluga?
>> A whale.
>> do you think it's a fish --
>> Each piece from this
chandelier to the scarlet and
yellow icicle tower is created
by a team of glass blowers with
final approval coming from Dale
Chihuly.
>> he does probably the most
successful artist to exhibit in
gardens around the world.
But there's nowhere that he has
exhibited where he has our plant
collection, beautiful lights the
desert has and the wonderful
vistas and backdrops.
It's just a different space for
him to see his work.
>> and that's why Phoenix is the
only garden to host two Chihuly
exhibits.
The first was in 2008.
>> we had over a half million
people visit in six months, a
record for us.
>> this exhibit features 21
installations spread across 55
acres.
>> Signature in every show I
have ever seen whether it's fine
art or garden is a boat.
He's a collector of boats.
He collects many, many things.
One thing are these antique
wooden boats.
This was a tender.
This dates back to the 1800s.
They are quite fragile and he
loves to put what he calls the
MILLEFIORE, wonderful shapes and
colors of glass into the boat.
>> for more than a year they
worked to pick the best spot.
Moving the artwork from
Chihuly's studio in Seattle to a
canvas in the desert took
patience.
>> The glass came in six
tractor-trailer trucks over the
cows of three days.
They come in hundreds of boxes,
each containing pieces of each
of the installations.
Chihuly sends a team of 12 down
to help.
They actually do the physical
installation itself.
It took us about two weeks to
get it all installed.
The sun was the largest
installation.
It took the longest to install,
about three and a half days, too
a team of five scholars.
It has 2,000 pieces of glass.
>> some colors and shapes are so
striking you can't miss them
like these yellow herons.
>> Very graceful.
They are sitting in the earth
among herbs.
As you're looking at the piece
you're smelling lavender and
thyme.
There's the chocolate flower.
There's this wonderful sensory
experience.
>> Other pieces blend in so well
you might mistake them for
desert plants.
>> You could stand here for ten
minutes and watch people walk
right by it.
>> But when the sun goes down,
she says every piece becomes a
star.
>> At night it's a completely
different show.
All the sculptures are lit and
we have going up the garden
Butte we have 26 neon panels.
>> Keeping all this glass shiny
requires the white glove
treatment.
It takes about ten hours each
week.
>> The best thing I hear a lot
is wow.
Look at.
That they really love that.
For us, we are about being the
garden.
To have visitors come in and
say, look at that, and look at
that plant.
That is really cool, or I hear
often just walking around, I
didn't know this place was here.
I didn't know how beautiful the
desert could be.
>> The exhibit runs through May
Advance reservations are
recommended.
>>> Tomorrow on "Arizona
Horizon," Scottsdale's general
plan generating controversy.
We'll hear about a drought
designation issue for 11 Arizona
counties.
That's on the next "Arizona
Horizon."
That is it for now.
I'm Ted Simons.
Thank you so much for joining
us.
You have a great evening.
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