Aaron MárquezVetsForward
August 29, 2026
First Published in the Arizona Daily Independent
Op-ed by State Rep. Aaron Márquez, a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, is running unopposed in Legislative District 5. He also serves on the Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board and is founder of VetsFWD, a nonprofit grassroots advocacy group.
OPINION — We’ve been experiencing another summer of extreme heat, the leading cause of weather-related deaths. Extended exposure to high temperatures increases the risk of developing illnesses, like heat stroke, and exacerbates other existing ailments, such as heart disease or diabetes.
The situation is worse in low-income areas and communities of color, for they are disproportionately more likely to experience extreme heat, and residents are less able pay more for increased air-conditioner electric bills.
That’s why there are communities across America that have installed distributed clean energy systems. When extreme heat threatens the grid, these communities are secure knowing that they are independently powered and their electricity rates won’t skyrocket.
Often, the distributed energy system is run by a municipality that can keep rates low. With battery storage, when they have excess energy, they can feed it back into the grid and get financial credit. In the military, we deploy solar to power our systems during some deployments. Distributed clean energy is secure, costs less and creates prosperity.
Here, that’s distributed solar. Arizona has among the strongest solar resources in the country and ranks fifth nationally in solar capacity. Solar installations have already created nearly 10,000 jobs in Arizona and generated $24.1 billion in capital investment.
Last year, Arizona was awarded $156 million to administer Solar for All, a program funded by the Biden administration’s signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. It provided $7 billion in access to solar energy and energy-bill assistance to 1 million low-income households across America. The program would increase the amount of our distributed solar, creating $165 million in savings and good-paying jobs.
However, on his first day in office, President Trump signed executive orders that prioritized oil and gas extraction and production, claiming they were for economic and national energy security. He declared a national energy emergency to pursue this directive. This tactic worsens the climate crisis and is making U.S. energy insecure.
Without more distributed clean energy to replace fossil fuel, our air will be dirtier, our energy bills higher and our economy weaker.
The people of Arizona were counting on the lower costs, cleaner air and good-paying jobs that Solar for All offered. The state is in litigation with other states over the funding.
We take an oath to the U.S. Constitution in the army and as a lawmaker to serve and protect from threats foreign and domestic. When crops fail due to extreme weather caused by the climate crisis, conflicts erupt over scarce resources threatening global security and prompting mass migrations. When I served in Afghanistan, the country was suffering from drought conditions, which have only become drastically worse.
Protecting our country means being honest about the threats in front of us. We have to combat the climate crisis and stop subsidizing the pollution that makes it worse. Clean distributed energy powering America will stabilize prices. We must deploy more distributed clean energy to keep our people safe, and for our national security.
