Arizona has been one of the biggest losers nationwide when it comes to canceled clean energy investments under the Trump administration, according to a report from the climate advocacy group, Climate Power.
And the report says more job losses are likely under Republicans’ proposed spending bill.
Climate Power reports more than 90,000 clean energy jobs nationwide have been lost or stalled as a result of Trump administration policies and funding cuts. In Arizona, for example, battery company Kore Power in February scrapped plans for a $1.2 billion plant that would have brought 3,000 jobs to Buckeye. The company faced uncertainty over whether it would receive a federal loan it had been counting on to fund construction.
Now, Congress is considering a spending bill that proposes to end federal tax credits for clean energy projects that had been implemented under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Doing away with those incentives would further threaten clean energy jobs, the Climate Power report says.
“Arizona would see enormous and immediate impacts — projects being canceled or not commencing construction at all,” said Kristina Costa, a former Biden administration energy adviser.
Costa said the Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits helped create a solar and battery power boom in Arizona, with dozens of new projects announced over the last few years. If planned projects end up getting canceled, job losses would be just one concern, Costa said.
“You would also see rates for consumers rise as well because you have a basic supply and demand problem,” Costa said. “Arizona will continue to see increased load growth, but without new generation to meet that load, customers are going to end up paying more for electricity.”
Republicans who support ending the Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax incentives say the credits are giveaways that come at a cost to taxpayers.
But some Republicans have voiced concern over the potential for lost jobs and higher energy costs for consumers. Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona voted for the GOP spending bill, but he is among House Republicans now calling for the Senate to make substantial changes to the section of the bill that rolls back the energy tax credits.
