AZ Clean Technology Leaders Urge Salazar to Support Transition to Clean Energy

(Phoenix) – In the wake of recent news of nearly $1 billion in federal loan guarantees for an Arizona solar project, 12 Arizona clean energy business leaders have written to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, encouraging him to continue to be a leader in the transition to clean energy on public, private, and tribal lands to benefit Arizona’s economy, communities, and environment…

“Solar is the fastest growing industry in the U.S., employing some 100,000 people nationwide, and along with other renewable energy sources and green technologies has become a significant economic driver in Arizona,” said Diane Brossart of Arizona Forward, a newly-formed business coalition focused on a statewide sustainability agenda…

As an example of Arizona’s burgeoning clean energy economy, the Department of Energy announced this month that it has finalized a $967-million loan guarantee to support construction of a 290-megawatt solar power plant, called Agua Caliente Solar, in Yuma County, Arizona. The project will use thin-film solar panels manufactured by Tempe-based First Solar, Inc.

To read the Press Release: Clean Technology Release
To read the Letter: Letter to Salazar