Reprinted from The Arizona Daily Independent

Since February 1, new co-sponsors have been added to the legislation developed by Senator Kelly Ayotte and Congressman Ron Barber in their efforts to save the A-10. There is still time to save the airplane, but there seems to be a dearth of courage coming out of Congress.

For months, the alarm has been sounded across Southern Arizona (by the Arizona Daily Independent almost exlcusively) that the demise of the Davis Monthan Air Force Base was imminent. That alarm was at first dismissed and then ignored by the mainstream media. Sources report that local civic leaders charged with supporting the base had been made aware of the impending cuts as long as 9 months ago, but they simply chose to pass on to the public the empty promises made by Air Force leadership that the loss of the A-10 would be ‘backfilled’ by F-16s.

The promise is as empty as it is mathematically impossible. According to documents recently released by the U.S. Air Force, Davis Monthan Air Force Base will lose 55 A-10s in FY 15-16, 7 EC-130s in FY 2016, 3 MQ-1s in FY 2016-2017, another 28 A-10s in FY 2018, and 6 MQ-9s will be added in FY 2015-2019. The documents also show that 21 F-16s will be added in FY 2019; however, it is clear, according to sources, that the Air Force will not have adequate inventory for that addition.

In other words, there are not enough F-16s to fill the promise, and the 7 EC-130s, a small MQ-9 (drone) group, and AMARC (boneyard) will not be enough to justify keeping the base open during the upcoming BRACs.

While the Pima County Board of Supervisors in Arizona will vote tomorrow on an ineffective resolution proclaiming their support for Davis Monthan Air Force Base, they have apparently been unable to wrestle any co-sponsorships out of the rest of Arizona’s congressional delegation.

Davis Monthan Air Force Base is a significant economic driver to the struggling area. According to the map (above), it is clear that over 4000 jobs will be lost by 2017 at the latest.

It appears that the congressional delegation in Arizona is only interested in preserving the promise of the F-35 at Luke Air Force Base. Luke is located in Phoenix, which is the heart of the delegation’s biggest voting bloc.

The people of Southern Arizona have little leadership. In 2010, Mike Varney of the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce wrote in a small business tabloid of the local leadership’s failure to support the future of DM:

“Missing from all of the public hearings were the politicians who are trying to convince us they are in favor of economic development. Where were you, elected officials? Were you really too busy to help bring $176 million in construction projects to Tucson? Are you really too afraid someone in your ward or district will take issue with the leadership you did not demonstrate?”

“Actions speak louder than words. Your words about wanting jobs and economic growth in the region lose credibility when no one from any town council, city council or the board of supervices (sic) could find the time to cheer for the home team.”

As a result, supporters of the A-10 are calling on the community in Southern Arizona and communities across the country to lobby directly on Capitol Hill. According to sources, few from Southern Arizona have recently visited Capitol Hill to put up a weak fight for DM and the A-10. Those small efforts have been ineffective.

But there is still time. Time for civic groups and individuals to show they recognize that their leaders have failed them, and they themselves will visit Capitol Hill and their representatives in Arizona offices to demand that they become co-sponsors of Ayotte and Barbers’ pieces of legislation. Simply put, say sources, that is all there is left to do.

The A-10, known for flying slow and low is the only aircraft in our military’s arsenal that can provide accurate Close Air Support and provide our sons and daughters the best aircraft possible. They are worth the effort, and our service members on the ground deserve our best effort.

In Arizona call:
Senator John McCain –   202-224-2235 or   602-952-2410
Senator Jeff Flake – 202-224-4521 or  602-840-1891
Rep Ann Kirkpatrick(D1) -202-225-3361 or 520-316-0839
Rep Ron Barber(D2) – 202-225-2542 or 520-881-3588
Rep Raul M. Grijalva(D3) – 202-225-2435 or 520-622-6788
Rep Paul A. Gosar(R4) – 202-225-2315 or 480-882-2697
Rep Matt Salmon(R5) – 202-225-2635 or 480-699-8239
Rep David Schweikert(R6) – 202-225-2190 or 480-946-2411
Rep Ed Pastor (D7) – 202-225-4065 or 602-256-0551
Rep Trent Franks (R8) – 202-225-4576 or 202-225-4576
Rep Kyrsten Sinema (D9) – 202-225-9888 or 602-956-2285

TUCSON, AZ – E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) Solar held a dedication ceremony Monday of its first two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the Tucson, Arizona area delivering a combined total of 15 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity. Both projects have long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Tucson Electric Power (TEP).

“These are our maiden solar facilities in the U.S. and signal E.ON’s commitment to solar development in the U.S. market,” said Steve Trenholm, Chairman E.ON North America.

Dr. Christophe Jurczak, CEO of E.ON Climate & Renewables Global Solar added that E.ON plans to continue to deliver innovative technological solutions to an ever changing world. “I am happy to say that these two projects are among the most technologically advanced solar PV projects in the world.”

In a statement, Congressman Ron Barber of Arizona praised the economic development opportunities that solar power brings to Arizona and the local community. “Solar-generating capacity in the United States continues to grow each year. I am proud that Arizona is a solar leader with nearly 10,000 people employed in my state’s rapidly growing solar industry.”

The first of the two projects, a 5 MW project called Tech Park Solar (TPS), was developed in collaboration with the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park (UA Tech Park) and TEP.  The project started generating power in December 2012.

“The Tech Park Solar installation is an excellent example of cutting-edge technology being showcased at the UA Tech Park’s Solar Zone,” said Ken Marcus, Director and UA Tech Park. The Solar Zone is home to installations by seven companies using nine different solar technologies.

The second, 10MW, project, Valencia Solar, came online in June 2013.

“We’ve been consistently impressed by E.ON. The company offers innovative tracking technologies and their employees possess strong expertise in renewable energy. E.ON is easy to work with and we would be pleased to work with them again,” said Carmine Tilghman, TEP’s Director of Renewable Energy.

During the ceremony, E.ON donated $10,000 to Casa de los Ninos, a local non-profit organization dedicated to preventing and treating child abuse and neglect in Tucson. “The depth of their compassion matches their resolve. This year marks their 40th year of delivering critical services to the most vulnerable people in the Tucson area,” said Trenholm.

E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R), headquartered in Essen, Germany, is responsible for E.ON’s large-scale renewable energy activities. EC&R plays a leading role in the development of the renewable industry worldwide and is already active in onshore and offshore wind, photovoltaic, and concentrating solar power (CSP). E.ON currently operates over 9 GW of renewable capacity including large hydro. Since its formation in 2007, EC&R has already invested more than 9 billion Euros, including more than $5 billion in the U.S solar and wind facilities, and will continue to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s power generation portfolio. For more information, please visit www.eon.com/renewables.

Tucson Electric Power provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 406,000 customers in southern Arizona. TEP was recognized this year as a leader in solar energy when it was included in two Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA’s) “top 10” lists of utilities that have added the most new solar power to their renewable energy portfolio, and the most solar on a watts-per-customer basis in 2012. TEP currently has more than 150 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity, enough to meet the annual electric needs of more than 30,000 Tucson homes. By the end of 2014, TEP expects to have more than 228 MW of solar generating capacity, enough to meet the annual electric needs of more than 45,000 homes. To learn more, visit https://www.tep.com/. For more information about TEP’s parent company, UNS Energy (NYSE: UNS), visit https://www.uns.com/.

The UA Tech Park advances the University of Arizona’s research mission and its efforts at technology development and technology commercialization.

The Solar Zone was developed in partnership between the UA Tech Park and Tucson Electric Power.  The Solar Zone at the UA Tech Park is one of the largest multiple tenant, multiple technology demonstration site in the United States.  The Solar Zone’s comprehensive scope is key to its innovative approach to creating a regional solar-based economy.  At completion, the Solar Zone will accommodate all significant components of the solar energy continuum: generation and storage; manufacturing and assembly; research and development; workforce development; and education and public awareness.