Apr. 26—With the push of a row of golden shovels into a pile of dirt, a crowd of manufacturers, congressional delegation members and the U.S. Secretary of Energy cheered for the future of a new solar manufacturing campus in Albuquerque.

Array Technologies Inc. and its partners committed more than $50 million to the new 216,000-square-foot campus on Albuquerque's West Side. The facility also received federal production tax credits and local and city incentives to set up the property.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, New Mexico Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján were present at the groundbreaking Friday.

"This is the future that President Biden sees for communities like Albuquerque and for communities across the country in all pockets of the nation who can take advantage of this clean energy future," Granholm said.

Array, a global leader in solar tracker technology, is a local manufacturing success story, said Kevin Hostetler, its CEO. Array started in New Mexico more than 30 years ago when founder Ron Corio pioneered ways to upgrade and mainstream solar trackers.

"Our mission is to drive forward renewable energy while contributing to a sustainable future for generations to come," he said.

He thanked local and state officials for making Albuquerque and New Mexico a leader in renewable energy and a great place to do business.

"With policies that supercharge solar manufacturing and create new jobs, together, we are paving the way for a brighter, more sustainable future," he said.

Heinrich said manufacturing is the biggest it's been since World War II, when the nation had to quickly build up industrial capacity.

"We are seeing a manufacturing renaissance in the United States of America," he said.

Granholm said the manufacturing in Albuquerque will boost its economy.

"Schools like (the University of New Mexico) are going to become a magnet for young people looking for these future-facing, good-paying careers in clean energy," she said.

Filling the jobs

A couple of decades ago, New Mexico's tech workforce was employed at Intel or the national labs or the air force bases, Granholm said. Now, she said, the state is becoming a hub for clean energy manufacturing.

"People are taking notice," she said. "You are getting Albuquerque on the map like never before."

Hostetler said manufacturing jobs in the solar industry are expected to more than triple over the next decade.

"And this growth enables us to develop more onshore capacity and make more solar technology here at home," he said.

Once the facility is running, Array will employ more than 300 at the Albuquerque manufacturing site, which is near Atrisco Vista NW and Interstate 40.

Hostetler said he thinks there will be hiring challenges.

To address that, he said there are a lot of companies developing training programs, and Array is working with local universities so students are developing needed skills.

Luján said there's a big incentive now for people to go into the renewable energy industry. He said students are being offered jobs before they've even finished their certifications or educational requirements.

"I think we're going to see more and more New Mexicans especially attracted to these programs. They're going to have good jobs on the way out," he said.

Granholm said the Inflation Reduction Act incentivizes the use of apprenticeships, with tax credits for companies paying good wages to people learning new skills.

"So that helps to fulfill the needs of workers that are going to be necessary both in construction and in operation," he said.

Heinrich said having to fill the workforce to meet the incredible demand is a good problem to have.

"It's a great time to be in the skilled trades or in manufacturing in the state of New Mexico," he said.

'Clean energy revolution'

Granholm said the nation's "clean energy revolution" is led by the private sector but enabled by the government. She touted federal tax credits that encourage manufacturers to supply the products, utilities to create demand and individuals to use the energy.

"We're growing this energy pie. Why wouldn't New Mexico claim a big piece?" Granholm said.

Granholm credited three laws for the "explosion of manufacturing" across the nation: the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act. She said since President Joe Biden launched his Investing in America agenda, eight new or expanded clean energy factories have come to New Mexico.

It's all contributing to a goal to achieve 100% clean electricity nationwide by 2035, she said.

Luján thought back to when he served on New Mexico's Public Regulation Commission, strengthening the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, a law signed in 2004 that required utilities to generate 20% of retail sales using renewable energy by 2020.

"We were just starting to pave the way," he said. "And for me to see something that we started back then — back in 2004, 2005 — to what Array is doing across America, across New Mexico and around the world and the job opportunities that have come with it, it's starting to show that promise."