Cherny pins hopes on solar -- Eloy Enterprise

By LINDSEY GEMME

Andrei Cherny, guest speaker for the Eloy Chamber last week, spoke on his vision for Arizona's future last Thursday, and the state's potential to be a hotbed for solar energy, which would help create jobs and successes disseminate through the state's economy.

On the verge of running for Arizona state treasurer, Andrei Cherny discussed where he believes Arizona should be investing its funds with Eloy Chamber members at last Thursday's luncheon in Casa Grande.

Cherny, both a former White House advisor and former assistant attorney general, made a presentation at the Chamber's monthly luncheon as guest speaker at the Holiday Inn. In light of the global recession, which he noted is unlike anything "we've ever seen before in terms of scale, and in terms of how far it reaches," the state of Arizona is notably in the worst shape when it comes to the U.S. economy. According to a survey Newsweek had done of the U.S., Arizona was worst in budget and in its fiscal situation. Further statistics have the state 50th in job creation, and highest in job loss across the country. 

"Question is, for a state that has so much going for it as Arizona does, why should it be in this kind of hole?" he asked the crowd. "For me, what it comes down to is looking at what we have - and especially haven't been - doing."

The biggest responsibility of state elected officials is that of creating jobs, and growing new businesses. Attracting and developing future job engines will, in turn, trickle throughout the rest of the state's economy.

"We're not going to walk away from cotton and cattle and copper," Cherny was quick to say. "All those things are still going to be important. But we need to make sure our economy's more diversified and that we're reaching into some of those areas that really can be places that will drive our economy forward and create the new kind of jobs we need to make sure the people out there have a good standard of living, are able to start up small businesses, able to see those small businesses grow and thrive...."

Cherny said that the state has been putting its money out on Wall Street rather than developing job engines and new indudsty, whether it's solar technology or biotech research. The downfall of that strategy of investing in just one area such as Wall Street, Cherny says, is like "putting all your eggs in one basket."

"We're also missing out on a big opportunity. Because the other states around us are economically competitive - Utah, New Mexico, California, Oregon - they're taking their similar pots of money and they're not just putting it on Wall Street; but they're also investigating it into their Main Streets around their states and things that really make sure their economy is growing, such as businesses and industries that are really going to be on the forefront of making sure that entrepreneurs are doing what they do best - which is creating jobs."

The state government needs to get behind the ball, and "not getting in people's way, but actually treat them as customers who we value and give them the kind of customer service that all of you would," Cherny added

His biggest hope is the push to make Arizona number one in wind or solar energy. According to Cherny, the leading country in solar energy development is Germany, and the leading U.S. state in the endeavor being New Jersey. Neither locale, he adds, has the full potential Arizona does for the natural resource. Germany, he said, has the sunlight of Anchorage, Alaska, as opposed to Arizona's 330 days of sunlight each year.

Arizona also has two of the top research institutions for this technology-University of Arizona and Arizona State University-and localized copper which composes a large percentage of solar cells.

"We really could be one stop shopping for this entire industry," Cherny said.

But the roadblock lays in current state policies. Tellingly, a recent study conducted by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council indicated that of the nine biggest solar production facilities that looked at Arizona over the past 16-18 months, all had gone somewhere else, such as New Mexico or Oregon. The companies all responded that although Arizona had everything going for it in regards to its natural resources, when they ran the numbers, other states were willing to give them bigger, better incentives.

"Other states were willing to invest in bringing them there, because that short term investment is going to yield long term benefits to their state," Cherny explained. He also said that the Arizona Dept of Commerce was a big player in that loss.

"The Dept. of Commerce is a shell of what it once was. With only slight exaggeration, it is there in name only right now."

Gene Wilson, city judge and president of the city's economic group, EDGE, also spoke on that reality. "We've had a number of speakers that have made presentations to us at EDGE over the last few months...most of them are very depressing. But one of the disturbing things that was told to us was there were a number of solar industries that were interested in coming into our state because of the natural resource we have here. But they couldn't do it, and were going to New Mexico because of the incentives that New Mexico was willing to give them. The toolbox that we once had, now it's empty. Arizona lawmakers have nothing to compete with. That is a legislature thing. That is a governor thing. That has got to be taken care of. That has to be done now."

The state also does not have a strategy for rural Arizona, which would be perfect grounds for the solar industry, Cherny added.

"We as a state are going to have to decide, are we going to be a state that is competing with all these other states that are moving fast into the future, or are we competing just for the low wage jobs out there? This is the moment where we're going to have to decide, over the next couple of years. With things like solar, we don't get another chance. This race between all these states and countries won't happen for much longer....It's an all-hands-on-deck kind of moment right now."