For those who have attended meetings where decisions were made about a proposed data center, energy project or the like in Arizona, odds are one of the speakers addressing decision makers was Cepand Alizadeh, the Arizona Technology Council’s government relations specialist. In fact, odds are very good since he logged more than 6,500 miles in his car over the past year to get to meetings throughout the state.
“It’s really a transparent process,” Alizadeh says of this style. “It’s a process to show that you are available and that you are there to help guide the way and answer any questions that may arise.”
That’s just what the public sees. Before then he has determined the project’s economic impact such as number of jobs it will create and learns the effect it will have on local businesses and nearby residents. That is followed by drafting letters to express the Council’s support or concerns and making sure they are sent to the appropriate parties. “It’s just trying to remain on the radars of those policymakers, industry, state and others who are going to be making a decision on whether a project moves forward,” he says.
An effort that makes him proud was related to the Project Baccara data center in the West Valley. The steps included advocating the project to the Arizona Corporation Commission, Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission. “This project is going to be a model for future data center projects because future data center developers are going to be bringing their own generation and feeding excess energy produced back to the grid,” Alizadeh says.
To help determine the types of projects that get the Council’s attention, he works closely with Steven G. Zylstra, the Council’s president and CEO. “We have our playbook and this playbook obviously gets refined,” Alizadeh says. “You add to the playbook or you take something out of the playbook.”
With a background in community affairs, he has developed traits of being kind and diplomatic when answering questions from residents and others. “I always begin my comments by saying, ‘I want to thank everyone in this room, whether you are supportive or whether you are opposed to this project. Having you in the room is very important, whether you support or whether you’re opposed, because this is what American democracy is all about.’”
