Summer is on its way in Arizona, and I’m already dreading it. 

As a veteran who grew up in Arizona and has spent time in Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Sahara, I can tell you that a summer in Phoenix ranks among the worst. It wears on you, on your car, on your wallet. Yet here in one of the sunniest states in the country, we’re still not taking full advantage of the most obvious solution: solar energy. 

Arizona summers were a serious consideration when my wife and I were deciding whether or not to move back home when I left the Navy.

What’s even more frustrating? States like Texas are leaving us in the dust.

That’s right — Texas. A state built on oil and gas is now one of the biggest producers of wind and solar energy in the country. They’re doing it because it makes economic sense. It’s job-creating, cost-cutting and infrastructure-smart. Meanwhile, Arizona — sitting on an endless supply of sunshine — is stuck talking about it instead of leading. We’re trailing not just Texas, but Florida, North Carolina and Nevada in solar production. The United States as a whole has also allowed China to roar past us and take the lead in solar energy.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

When I drive down the street from my Tempe home through the campus of Arizona State University, I see something we should’ve copied statewide by now: solar panels over the same parking lots across which we used to endure a long, hot walk to campus, blessedly now sheltered by a canopy of solar panels keeping the university humming without having to bleed energy along lengthy transmission lines.

Not only do they generate clean electricity, but they provide shade — real, usable shade that makes a huge difference when the outside temperature hits 110 degrees, let alone 120. You can actually touch your steering wheel without burning your hand. Imagine that.

Now think about every grocery store, school, office park or hospital across Arizona. Why aren’t we covering all those parking lots with solar panels, too? We could be generating power and protecting cars from heat damage at the same time. It’s smart, simple and shovel-ready. Instead, we keep dragging our feet.

To be clear, we are making progress. Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, companies have announced more than $13.34 billion in clean energy projects in Arizona, creating nearly 19,000 new jobs. However, since President Trump took office, there are currently more than 10,500 jobs and $3.61 billion in investments in clean energy projects lost or threatened in our state.

Clean energy solutions like solar and energy efficiency are doing more than cooling parking lots — they’re helping Arizona combat extreme heat, lower electricity costs and create good-paying jobs across the state. The solar industry is expanding rapidly, offering new career opportunities to workers, including many veterans transitioning to civilian life, such as jobs in manufacturing, installing, and maintaining solar panels and farms, and modernizing our electrical grid. These innovative, homegrown solutions strengthen our economy and protect our communities.

However, the current administration and some lawmakers are pushing to repeal or defund the policies that made this economic progress possible because of a political agenda that ignores the economic reality that affordable energy is going to be the most critical factor to economic growth, making sure your home isn’t unbearably hot. The House Republicans recently passed the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping, multi-trillion-dollar tax package that, if enacted, would represent one of the most significant wealth transfers from average Americans to billionaires and corporate polluters in modern history. The bill jeopardizes clean energy programs that support our local economy.

This isn’t about being liberal or conservative — it’s about being practical. Conservative-led states are embracing renewables, not because they’ve had a political change of heart, but because they’re reading the numbers. Solar energy is cheap, clean and reliable. That’s the kind of energy Arizona needs, especially as our grid is tested by rising temperatures and surging populations.

Arizona should be leading this moment, not watching from the sidelines while other states like Texas reap the benefits. It’s time to fully embrace the opportunity to power our future, grow local jobs and build extreme heat resilience.

Arizona can catch up and remain a great place for veterans and their families to call home — but we’d better move fast, because summer is coming. Now more than ever, we need our leaders to protect Arizona’s clean energy economic progress to ensure we build safer and healthier communities for all.

Tim Stringham is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Navy. He served as a Captain in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and later in the Navy JAG Corps. He is now the Co-Executive Director of VetsForward, a veteran-led organization protecting democracy at home and advancing clean energy, climate resilience and veteran leadership.