🚨During Housing Shortage, Hobbs Administration Auctioned 22 Times More State Trust Land for Solar Than Housing
“In FY26, the Hobbs Administration auctioned over 6,700 acres of State Trust Land to solar but only 300 acres for residential purposes. During a housing shortage, the Department auctioned nearly 22 times the number of acres of State Trust Land for utility-scale solar development than for new home construction. That was seven auctions for solar but only two for homes: more than three times as many for solar as for new home construction. I also think it’s interesting that five of those seven solar leases were located in Maricopa County—the same county where the Governor issued a housing moratorium that illegally halted nearly 162,000 Phoenix-area homes planned for State Trust Land.” -
@AZHouseGOP Rep. Gail Griffin, House Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee and Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee.
“The Department also testified that there are approximately 150 solar applications currently pending and that approximately 20 percent of those are currently ‘moving through the process.’ If all 20 percent of those go to auction, then that would be 30 more solar leases in FY27. At about 1,000 acres per auction, which has been the trend, that’s 30,000 acres of State Trust Land going for solar next year. Meanwhile, the Department said it was planning only 7,200 acres for residential in FY27, four times less. I see a move to tie up land for 30 years with solar that prevents new home construction and drives up land and housing prices within the cities. The future of Arizona’s affordable standard of living and ability to start new families is on the line.”
“Assuming 5 units per acre, those 6,704 acres that went to solar could have supported at least 33,500 new homes, which would have reduced our housing shortage by more than half. Despite the Governor’s clear preference for solar, homebuilders still brought in nearly 44 times as much value for the beneficiaries of the Trust per acre as utility-scale solar, with residential bringing in nearly $357,000 per acre but solar delivering only $8,124 per acre. Let that sink in. Homebuilding brought in more than three times the value of solar with nearly 22 times less land.” -Rep. Chris
@LopezForArizona, Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee.
“I appreciate the direction that Commissioner has taken to reform procedures at the Department, but I am concerned of all the auctions the Department held in FY26 for commercial solar leases, allhad only ONE bidder. That’s 100 percent of all the solar leases the Department issued in FY26 had no competition, no competing bidder, and no increase in final price for the beneficiaries of the Trust. On all those leases, the final winning price was the same as the minimum starting price. Meanwhile, the sole residential land sale that the Department held in Maricopa County commanded over 400 bids and saw its final purchase price increase by over 66 percent over the minimum starting price, from $108.3 million to $180 million. The pattern of single bidders on auctions the Department holds for utility-scale solar purposes raises questions about whether the Trust could have received more revenue had other industries—such as homebuilders—been allowed to compete. Blanketing our state with 30-year leases of solar and wind will lead to unintended consequences that will hurt the Trust.” -Rep.
@SylviaAllenAZ .
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