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Christian Gubile, an installer for Vivint Solar, carries over a solar panel for installation on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, in Saratoga Springs. This particular house had three different solar panel arrays installed.

Evan Cobb, Daily Herald

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Stan Lockhart, interim president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, poses for a portrait in front of a photograph of Mount Timpanogos at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce in Provo on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. The photograph, which also features Silver Lake in American Fork Canyon, was taken by Park City photographer Willie Holdman. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald

Isaac Hale Daily Herald

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Stan Lockhart, interim president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, poses for a portrait at the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce in Provo on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald

Isaac Hale Daily Herald

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The future of clean energy is looking bright for Utah Valley as homegrown solar energy company Vivint Solar was just acquired by San Francisco-based Sunrun, making the newly formed company the largest provider of residential solar panels and batteries in the country. This is just the latest sign that clean energy is good for Utah’s economy and a major contributor to the economic well-being of our entire region.

In my new role as interim CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, the health and vitality of local businesses is my top priority. We also need to be good stewards of our abundant natural resources. Fortunately, these are not disparate goals, but in fact go hand-in-hand.

Headquartered in Lehi, Vivint Solar has been a major source of jobs and economic stimulus for years — providing thousands of highly skilled, well-paying jobs in Utah County and helping to boost our region’s foothold in the clean energy space. This new acquisition means this legacy will continue well into the future, giving consumers more opportunities to invest in solar power for their homes and businesses.

This is, of course, wonderful news that we should all take time to celebrate. However, the larger picture of clean energy jobs here in Utah and across the country tells a different story. Like many other economic sectors, clean energy has taken a serious hit since the economic slowdown that followed in the wake of COVID-19. While June has seen some jobs in this space returning, overall, the numbers are still down significantly.

Nationwide, America’s clean energy workforce totaled 3.3 million workers at the end of 2019. It was an economic powerhouse, employing 40 percent of America’s entire energy workforce. Despite adding a little over 100,000 jobs in June, that workforce is still down by over half a million — or nearly 515,000 jobs — since the pandemic hit in March. Here in Utah, that translates to just over 3,000 men and women who were once employed by the clean energy sector that are out of a job.

If we want to continue building on the success we’ve seen in clean energy through examples like Vivint, then we need to help restore our clean energy workforce — here in Utah and across the country. The right public policies can help us reach that goal. The fact is, Congress has demonstrated its ability to act quickly and decisively when push comes to shove. In response to the unfolding economic crisis following the COVID-19 shutdowns, Congress swiftly passed a series of unprecedented economic relief packages, one after another, to help businesses and citizens in need.

However, lacking from these legislative solutions was any clear commitment to rebuilding our nation’s clean energy economy. This is probably due to the fact that the issue of clean energy has become so politically polarized in Washington that neither side can agree on how to best provide relief for the renewable energy sector. That needs to change. As Congress considers the next stimulus package, we need our elected officials to help us stimulate this part of our economy and bring back clean energy jobs.

Utah’s post-pandemic economic plan should include reigniting the clean energy economy and getting these workers back on the job. The clean energy sector is a vital part of Utah’s economy and its success helps Utah Valley businesses and residents — as well as the rest of America — into a cleaner, brighter and more prosperous future.

Stan Lockhart is the interim CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce.