Stories from the Rooftop
Dear Friend,
Earlier this month, I was in Santa Fe helping install rooftop solar panels on a job site with workers from locally-owned business Positive Energy Solar. Jobs in New Mexico's solar industry increased by 54 percent last year. Almost 3,000 New Mexicans work in this rapidly growing field. It was great to talk with four of these New Mexicans on one of their job sites about what led them to this line of work.
After working with these New Mexico solar installers in the morning, I had the pleasure of joining the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce for their monthly luncheon to talk about the enormous economic impact of clean energy and our public lands. While I was on the rooftop, I spoke with Santa Fe Public Radio KSFR.
You can listen to my interview with KSFR: "Sen. Heinrich Touts Green Tech--from the Rooftops"
With our incredible potential for both solar and wind energy alongside innovative research and development at our national laboratories and universities, New Mexico is poised to become a major producer and exporter of clean power. That will mean thousands of new jobs--from rural wind technicians to urban solar installers and maintenance workers. We should be doing everything we can to tap into this major economic opportunity and train New Mexico workers and students for these jobs of the future. I introduced the Energy Workforce for the 21st Century Act earlier this year to meet the growing clean energy workforce needs and create a comprehensive strategy at the Department of Energy to increase the participation of women and minorities throughout the energy sector.
Despite the many disheartening actions and decisions coming from the Trump White House, we are proving in New Mexico that we can meet our climate goals and move toward cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy while creating thousands of new jobs in our communities. I remain committed to using my role on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to keep moving our nation and state's energy economy forward.
Sincerely,
MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator
