Heinrich Highlights Efforts To Supercharge Solar Jobs, Manufacturing In New Mexico During Virtual Conversation With Clean Energy For America, Industry Leaders
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is strengthening New Mexico’s leadership in the clean energy transition by protecting investments that produce solar jobs, manufacturing, and economic activity throughout the state.
Senator Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Electrification Caucus, highlighted his efforts to supercharge good-paying solar careers in New Mexico during a virtual conversation with Clean Energy for America.
WATCH: Heinrich Highlights Efforts To Supercharge Solar Jobs, Manufacturing In New Mexico [HD DOWNLOAD LINK HERE]
A recent solar tariff petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce caused severe concerns over harm to the state’s solar industry and the New Mexicans that support it. Senator Heinrich helped lead a national effort to stop these job-killing tariffs and bolster domestic solar manufacturing.
This week, in response to Senator Heinrich’s efforts, the Biden administration announced a two-year solar tariff suspension window while also invoking the Defense Production Act to boost U.S. solar manufacturing.
During the virtual conversation with Clean Energy for America, Senator Heinrich expressed that he was thrilled to see “President Biden take decisive action earlier this week for our solar and clean energy industry. Giving U.S. solar companies a two-year reprieve from the solar tariff petition that was creating major uncertainty across the industry will save thousands of American jobs.”
Heinrich continued, “It will build a bridge for our domestic solar component manufacturers to scale up their operations and become more competitive on the global market. And it will provide locally-owned solar companies with the certainty they need to continue building a clean and resilient electric grid for the 21st century, lower energy costs for families, and help us meet our responsibility on climate.”
Senator Heinrich plans to continue his fight for increased climate action and clean energy investments in the U.S. Senate. That includes clean energy tax credits, rebates that will help lower costs for families, and investments to help New Mexico rapidly scale up these job-creating industries, and make sure the country is meeting this moment on climate.
The discussion also featured U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.), President and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Abigail Ross Hopper, Evergreen Action Co-Founder and Senior Advisor Sam Ricketts. Vice President of Communications and Policy at GoodLeap Julia Pyper moderated.
During the discussion, SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper thanked Senator Heinrich for his leadership and “heroism” to protect and bolster America’s solar industry and jobs.
Senator Heinrich’s full opening remarks for today’s discussion are below.
Thank you to Clean Energy for America for bringing together some incredible champions for America’s clean energy future.
I’m really grateful to both Abigail Ross Hopper of SEIA and Sam Ricketts of Evergreen Action for all that you have been doing to lead on climate.
And I think I can speak for all of us in saying just how thrilled I was to see President Biden take decisive action earlier this week for our solar and clean energy industry.
Giving U.S. solar companies a two-year reprieve from the solar tariff petition that was creating major uncertainty across the industry will save thousands of American jobs.
It will build a bridge for our domestic solar component manufacturers to scale up their operations and become more competitive on the global market.
And it will provide locally-owned solar companies with the certainty they need to continue building a clean and resilient electric grid for the 21st century, lower energy costs for families, and help us meet our responsibility on climate.
As someone who has really honed in on the effort to electrify our buildings, I was also pleased to see the President invoke the Defense Production Act to supercharge the domestic manufacturing of heat pumps and other critical clean energy technologies.
Manufacturing heat pumps at scale will help many more Americans purchase these super-efficient, clean, and electric appliances.
Heat pumps are much less costly to operate over the long-term than fossil combustion-powered furnaces, hot water heaters, and HVAC systems.
We need to help all of our businesses and families see those savings on their monthly utility bills.
Now that the President has taken these major executive actions, the Senate needs to do our part and come back to the table on climate and clean energy investments.
I am eager to pass the clean energy tax credits, and rebates that will help lower costs for families, help us rapidly scale up these job-creating industries, and make sure we are meeting this moment on climate. I hope I don’t need to tell you how urgent this is.
My home state of New Mexico is currently experiencing the most destructive and devastating wildfire season that it has ever experienced.
We are in a drought the likes of which we haven’t experienced in 1,200 years And it is only early June.
My constituents cannot afford to wait any longer for Congress to act on climate.
We need to find a way forward.
Thank you to all the speakers and everyone tuning into this call today for what you are doing to elevate this effort.
We have to get this done.
Thank you.
