Solar energy bills target Arizona's La Paz County, with bipartisan support in Congress

Yahoo

13-03-2025

Arizona lawmakers are pushing for more solar development in the state, particularly in rural La Paz County, even as the Trump administration advocates moving away from 'intermittent' renewable energy.
Republicans and Democrats have introduced at least two bills promoting solar and wind energy in Arizona since the new Congress started work in January. Lawmakers say the bills promote economic development in rural parts of the state while boosting the country's power supply.
'Solar developments create jobs and power Arizona homes with affordable, sustainable energy,' said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., in a press release.
One of the bills would transfer federal land in western Arizona to local control, while both could bring more money to local governments from renewable energy projects. Solar projects are controversial in western Arizona communities, offering economic opportunity while transforming local landscapes.
The La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act would sell 3,400 acres of federal land to La Paz County to allow the expansion of a large existing solar park there. The transferred acres cannot include any 'significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources.'
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The bill has been introduced in both the House and Senate. The House version is sponsored entirely by Republicans, including Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who represents La Paz County. The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by both of Arizona's Democratic senators, Gallego and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
The second bill, sponsored by Gosar, is designed to encourage solar projects on federal lands across the country, including the vast areas of public land in Gosar's district. The bill would also use revenues from those solar projects — fees and rents collected by the federal government — to fund local governments and conservation efforts.
This is Gosar's eighth time introducing the legislation, which he has put forward in various forms since he was elected in 2010. The previous bills have never reached a House floor vote, though they had strong support from Republicans and Democrats. Gosar's office says components of the bills have passed through other legislation.
'Congressman Gosar has led this overwhelmingly bipartisan bill for years and while much of the bill was passed in previous years, this legislation will finish the job Congressman Gosar started,' a spokesperson from Gosar's office said in an email.
Federal officials are considering eight solar projects that would be located in Gosar's district or just outside of it, making up the vast majority of solar projects proposed on federal land in Arizona. If they are all approved, these projects would produce a combined 4.7 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power almost 800,000 homes when operating at full capacity.
'Looking ahead, renewable energy sources like wind and solar should be an integral part of the United States' all-of-the-above energy strategy. Our nation's public lands can play a critical role in lowering energy prices and can help meet our nation's growing energy demand,' Gosar's office wrote in a press release.
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Solar was the fastest-growing energy source in the U.S. in 2024, though natural gas was the largest source. Gosar's district in western Arizona, with its flat, sunny expanses and high concentration of federal land, is seen as an ideal location for solar projects. The district, and Arizona broadly, has almost no oil or gas reserves.
Western Arizona communities are divided on solar, but local officials in conservative counties seem supportive of the bill.
'This vital legislation is key to our strategic plan for La Paz County to be home to the largest solar project in the nation," La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin said in a press release.
In an email to The Republic, Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter echoed support for energy development in western Arizona, so long as the projects are far from towns and cities.
'If we can work together to get the siting of these projects right and far enough removed from our rural population centers, I think there could be some big wins for everyone,' Lingenfelter said. 'Mohave County citizens support responsible and diversified energy solutions … but strongly believe that federally-managed lands close to our rural population centers should not be prioritized for industrial-scale renewable energy development.'
The bills seem to align with the Trump administration's push to boost the national energy supply at a time when growing data centers and electric cars are straining power grids in some areas of the country. At the same time, the bills are pushing for a form of 'intermittent' power that Trump officials seem hesitant to support.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate in January, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, 'We need baseload in order to allow renewables to be part of the system … we've stacked the deck, where we are creating roadblocks for people who want to do baseload and we've got massive tax incentives for people who want to do intermittent.'
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Trump essentially paused any renewable power projects on federal lands during the administration's first days in office. Trump also excluded renewables from the projects he would support through his 'energy emergency,' which he declared in January to strengthen the national power grid, reduce energy prices and boost fossil fuel production.
So-called 'baseload' power usually means fossil fuels, some hydropower, and nuclear power that can provide energy at all times of the day. 'Intermittent' power, in this case, means solar and wind, which produce power according to the movements of the sun and air.
During Burgum's confirmation, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., argued that solar and wind can become baseload power sources when their electricity is stored in batteries for later release, a technology her state is advancing through research, manufacturing and mining.
'Isn't the combination of renewables plus battery storage baseload?' Cortez Masto asked Burgum.
'That's certainly the future,' Burgum responded, 'but until we get to that time, we have to sort of have two systems.'
Austin Corona covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to [e-mail]
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona lawmakers want more solar for the state