Trump’s clean energy reversal puts $1.6B Arizona solar projects at risk

Jerod MacDonald-Evoy

(Arizona Mirror) Proposed solar energy projects on federal lands in Arizona could be in danger due to a new Trump administration policy that could lead to the state losing billions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs.

In July, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a memo stating that he must personally approve all solar and wind energy projects on federal land.

That news came after President Donald Trump signed into law a spending bill that eliminated a number of clean energy tax credits, leaving Arizonans and businesses a short window of time to utilize before they are gone.

An analysis by research firm Atlas Public Policy shows that three solar projects proposed on federal land in the state could be in jeopardy given the new directive from the Department of Interior. The total cost of the investments on those projects is estimated to be $1.6 billion.

Only Nevada has more projects that could be scrapped by the Trump administration’s new rule.

Trump’s $3.4 trillion deficit-boosting tax cut and spending package fulfills a number of his administration’s domestic policy priorities, including a major reversal on clean energy initiatives.

The possibility of losing these projects also comes amid a backdrop of surging energy use by data centers across the country and in Arizona. The state is home to 151 data centers and counting — the Grand Canyon State is No. 7 in the number of data centers nationally — which used more than 1.5 gigawatts of electricity in 2024.

Utility rates in the state have also continued to skyrocket, as customers with Arizona Public Service are anticipated to see a double-digit increase in their rates starting next year, with concerns that Arizona’s booming data center economy could make matters worse for consumers.

The three projects on federal land that could be impacted by the changes are estimated to generate more than 1.1 gigawatts — enough to power almost 260,000 homes — and permanently employ 213 people. Another 3,600 people would be employed during construction, according to Atlas’ data.

“It does definitely leave a space open for state leadership, and the burden is now sort of shifting to the states if they want to continue to make rapid progress to take their own sort of policy actions,” Rachel Reolfi, senior policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy, told the Mirror. “There is still going to be demand for those types of projects but maybe not at the rate that we were expecting before all these policy changes so if states want to keep up the rapid progress they might need to take up their own policy changes.”

Even before the new directive, the solar industry was already facing an uphill battle in the state, with a number of solar installation companies and solar manufacturers going bankrupt in the past six months. Additionally, a number of clean energy projects have stalled or been canceled due to the uncertainty around the Trump administration:

• Electric vehicle manufacturer Nikola cut 855 jobs in Arizona in February and the judge in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings raised questions about potential buyers due to the Trump administration’s policies.
• U.S. solar panel manufacturer Meyer Burger in May closed its Goodyear factory, which had been located there because of the Inflation Reduction Act and the clean energy incentives that Trump has rolled back.
• A $1 billion battery plant in Buckeye that aimed to bring over 6,000 jobs and cited the IRA as helping set a “clear path” was scrapped.
• An electric boiler and solar array project in Casa Grande that would have reduced carbon emissions by 90% was cancelled in May after its funding was cut by the U.S. Department of Energy.

More projects are likely to be affected down the road unless lawmakers can find a way to promote clean energy.

At a meeting about climate, U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari called the Trump administration “the most anti-climate, anti-environment” administration in the history of the United States.

Speaking at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, the Phoenix Democrat said she has been working with Gov. Katie Hobbs, also a Democrat, to find a fix for the elimination of the Solar for All funds.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would be terminating the $7 billion program that aims to bring solar power to lower income communities.

“My priority will be to continue to push back relentlessly against these cuts,” Ansari said, calling it a “dystopian time” for the country’s climate.

Hobbs did not respond to a request for comment.