Powerful Action

While the Arizona Technology Council is no stranger to the public policy arena, the list of topics has been wide ranging over the years. In 2021, however, one theme continued to surface — and the group had plenty of company when it came to taking a stand.

From the Office of the Governor to Capitol Hill, clean energy was a focal point for the Council and others who shared their vision of a future when the nation moves past a reliance on fossil fuel and taps into alternative ways to help power the economy forward.

Most recently, the Council partnered with Nikola, Gov. Doug Ducey and others to celebrate National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, which marks the growth of the industry by raising awareness of the benefits fuel cell technologies and hydrogen energy provide in reducing emissions while driving economic growth. Nikola, a global transportation leader in zero-emissions and infrastructure solutions, is building a manufacturing facility in Coolidge. Besides being used in fuel cells that power Nikola trucks, hydrogen is already providing power to various sectors of the U.S. 

Steven G. Zylstra, the Council’s president and CEO, also was part of a group of clean vehicle advocates who called for modernizing the U.S. transportation sector by investing in advanced vehicles and transportation infrastructure, as well as expanding electric vehicle (EV) tax incentives. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was among those who urged Congress to pass a budget that makes ambitious investments in EVs, creating jobs and spurring economic opportunity for all Arizonans.

“I strongly believe it’s critical to make climate change initiatives a priority at the state and national levels,” Zylstra says. That sentiment is one reason the Council urged Congress to pass the framework that President Joe Biden laid out to cut emissions by more than 50% by 2030.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill recently signed into law by Biden sets aside $7.5 billion for EV charging stations to help meet a target of a half-million public stations by 2030. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that more than 100,000 public EV charging ports were online as of the first quarter of this year. 

EVs also were prominent in the Build Back Better Act being ironed out at the time this article was being prepared. The measure included a tax credit of $7,500 granted to an EV buyer for five years while another $4,500 in tax credits would be made available to a buyer purchasing an electric car assembled in the U.S. using union labor. 

The Council has been a major advocate of the act and its promise of expanding the clean energy economy and creating millions of new jobs. The key to these achievements is the Clean Electricity Performance Program, which would accelerate electric utilities’ clean energy transition and cut customer bills. With Arizona’s endless sunshine, the CEPP would supercharge the state’s solar and battery industries, spur clean technology innovation and create jobs. In addition, for every $1 spent on the program, $6 in investment would be generated.

Closer to home, the Council has worked with lawmakers and the Arizona Corporation Commission to advance policies that prioritize clean and renewable energy use, invest in EV infrastructure development, encourage demand-side adoption of energy efficiency and support innovation in the energy industry.

In addition, the Council has made clean energy investment and innovation a legislative priority for 2022 and beyond in its 2022 Public Policy Guide. “The Council has made clean energy and emissions reduction a top legislative priority because it not only benefits the health of our ecosystem, it also promotes economic growth,” Zylstra says.

In the guide, the Council encourages lawmakers to support policies that provide the certainty needed to attract clean and renewable energy developers of all sizes, from rooftop to utility scale. Sustained economic investment requires that Arizona utility regulators and legislators create and maintain policies that enable capital intensive investment in clean and renewable energy technologies.

Energy policy that encourages demand-side adoption of energy efficiency, prioritizes clean and renewable energy use, invests in EV infrastructure development, and supports innovation in the industry also should be prioritized. Additionally, the advancements in clean and renewable energy policies that have been made by the Commission need to be protected. More details on the Council’s positions can be found at https://www.aztechcouncil.org/public-policy/.

In the new year, the Council remains committed to staying plugged into the advocacy of clean energy.