August 2024 President’s Message

Steven G. Zylstra, President + CEO
Arizona Technology Council
SciTech Institute

Like most people who live here, the summer heat is something we at the Arizona Technology Council endure or dread, depending on the day.

That is one of the reasons we tune in to developments related to clean energy technology. No matter your stance on climate change, there is no denying that power generated by renewable sources does not generate carbon dioxide and other emissions that can lead to increased heat, droughts and health risks.

Clean Power, a strategic communications organization focused on climate, has issued a scorecard of the value of clean energy developments — that is, dollars invested and job creation — under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 signed by President Joe Biden. More commonly, it’s known as the clean energy plan.

Throughout the nation, 312,900 new clean energy jobs have been created. The sectors and their share of the job total are:

• Batteries – 41.6%
• Clean tech – 14.2%
• Hydrogen – 3.5%
• Solar – 18.2% 
• Wind – 4%
• Electric vehicles – 14.7%
• Grids – 3.8%

I wasn’t entirely surprised by the categories since the Council and its members have been active in these areas. In fact, some content in this section of the magazine will share details of those activities.

But how we compare to the rest of the nation shows we are claiming a large share, which is good for our economy. For example, Arizona is among the 10 states with the majority of new clean energy jobs. Clean Power counted 20 projects with new investments valued at more than $11.24 billion combined. This is expected to result in 15,570 new jobs.

Six projects are valued at $3.56 billion total and expected to create 2,795 jobs in low-income communities, which is good news for job creation in areas in need. And one project in a rural community is valued at $2.16 billion and expected to create 1,100 jobs in the type of area often ignored by major projects.

The report went further by tying the projects to congressional districts. The bulk of the clean energy projects are in districts represented by Republican members of the House of Representatives. For Arizona, the representatives, their districts and the totals are:

• Rep. Andy Biggs (District 5) – Two projects valued at $5.6 billion are expected to create 3,750 jobs.
• Rep. Juan Ciscomani (District 6) – Three projects are expected to create 245 jobs.
• Rep. Debbie Lesko (District 8) – One project is valued at $559 million.
• Rep. Paul Gosar (District 9) – Five projects valued at more than $1.66 billion are expected to create 7,940 jobs.

In districts represented by Democrats, the details are:

• Rep. Greg Stanton (District 4) – Two projects are expected to create 70 jobs.
• Rep. Raul Grijalva (District 7) – Five projects valued at $3.42 billion are expected to create 2,850 jobs.

It’s clear that, together, we are cleaning up when it comes to claiming a share of progress through clean energy.