La Paz County in western Arizona will see hundreds of jobs and more economic benefits because of new legislation, the state's two U.S. senators said Tuesday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego and Sen. Mark Kelly announced that they introduced the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act. The senators said it would allow the county to purchase 3,400 acres of federal lands for a solar energy project.
In a prior land transfer, La Paz County built a solar park next to the Ten West Link transmission project in central Arizona. The new legislation will enable the county to add more solar capacity and battery storage, enough to power about 75,000 homes. The project is expected to generate 700 construction jobs and 10 permanent positions.
In a released statement, Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, also known as CRIT, said "Protection of CRIT cultural resources and economic development are not partisan issues, so I am grateful that (Democratic) Senator Gallego is joining Congressman (Paul) Gosar (who was one of three Arizona Republicans who introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House) in introducing this legislation. CRIT and La Paz County are well underway on the first phase of this project, and we look forward to continuing the productive relationship in the years to come."
