Phoenix-based Vermaland recently said it supports a proposal by Arizona Corporation Commission Chairman Doug Little that would double the state's requirements for renewable forms of wind and solar energy.

Under the proposal, utilities would have to generate 30 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2030. In 2006, the commission approved the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff that would require regulated electric utilities to generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025.

Arizona utility companies are required to file annual implementation plans explaining how they will comply with the rules. Proposals include incentives for customers that install solar technologies in their homes and businesses. Since Arizona receives 300 days a year of sunshine, it is an ideal place for solar power to thrive.

"We would love to see Arizona claim the mantle as the top renewable energy producer in the country," Kuldip Verma, CEO and founder of Vermaland, said. "California has been very aggressive in their renewable standards and we hope Arizona follows that path. We have witnessed too many developers leave our great state because they lacked opportunity to sell to local utilities. The time to lock up land for the development of solar and wind energy is now."

Vermaland, a land development company  founded in 2001, is the largest holder of 50- to 1,200-acre parcels in the metropolitan Phoenix area.