FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
John Nielsen, Western Resource Advocates
(303) 444-1188 or jnielsen@westernresources.org
Dan Grossman, Environmental Defense Fund
(303) 887-8206 or dgrossman@edf.org

(Phoenix, AZ – January 26, 2010). The economic benefits of solar power are shining brightly in Arizona. Last week, Amonix announced a new solar manufacturing facility in Arizona that would create 167 jobs. Tempe-based First Solar, one of the top earning Arizona companies, posted earnings of $1.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2009, a considerable increase over $800 million for the first nine months of 2008. At the January 27th Arizona Solar Manufacturing Symposium, Suntech Power Holdings is expected to announce a new solar manufacturing facility in the Phoenix area.

Today, Clean Energy Pioneers, a multi-media project of Western Resource Advocates and Environmental Defense Fund, is featuring the real-world job opportunities in the solar power industry for hard-working Arizonans.

"Thanks to the abundance of sun and innovation, Arizona's solar companies are creating jobs and building Arizona's clean energy economy," said David Berry, Western Resource Advocates Director of Energy Policy Analysis. A major report&mdashArizona Solar Energy and Economics Outlook (2009)—examined the potential for expansive solar generation in Arizona to create 32,000 annual construction and installation jobs and $1.6 billion in annual wages over the next 20 years.

"The economic benefits of clean, solar energy mean more homegrown jobs for Arizona," said Dan Grossman, Regional Director of Environmental Defense's Rocky Mountain Office. "For Arizonans, the local economic benefits of solar power are shining brightly."

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

Western Resource Advocates, protects the West's land, air, and water recognizing that success can only come from working collaboratively with other conservation groups, hunters and fishermen, ranchers, American Indians, and all those who seek a sustainable future for this remarkable part of the country.