President Joe Biden listens to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, left, as Intel factory manager Hugh Green listens, during a tour of the Intel Ocotillo Campus, in Chandler, Ariz., Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
On Friday, April 5, local, state, and federal leaders convened at the Clean Economy and Community Impact Summit at the University of Arizona Tech Park in Tucson, to talk about the economic impact of federal investments into clean energy across Arizona.
Panel discussions touched on how the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America Agenda, which has allocated funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), has helped create thousands of jobs throughout the state.
Senator Mark Kelly said that some of these jobs don’t require four-year degrees, particularly in the growing manufacturing industry, adding that the state is evolving into a hub for innovation due to federal investments.
“Both of these things are going to help entrepreneurs and spur companies to build a clean economy so that we can mitigate a lot of the effects of climate change,” Kelly said.
The Senator also mentioned President Biden’s recent visit to Arizona, during which he awarded $8.5 billion to Intel through the CHIPS and Science Act Award, which is anticipated to create over 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 7,000 construction jobs.
Also at the event was Mayor Regina Romero, Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community, Blaise Caudill of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Resiliency along with other speakers including Mitch Landrieu, former Senior Advisor to the President and Infrastructure Coordinator.
“By securing historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy, climate resilience, and innovation, President Biden and Vice President Harris are building a clean economy that is uplifting communities across our nation,” Landrieu said.
Landrieu expressed that over $90 billion has been invested in Arizona recently, from both public and private entities in recent years, fueling clean tech innovation and job creation amid the climate crisis.
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