The Center for an Arizona Carbon-Neutral Economy pursues a bold vision: to build a clean, resilient and carbon-neutral economy in Arizona and the Southwest by 2050, and to intentionally support the communities most at risk of being left behind.
AzCaNE launched with a focus on low-carbon intensity hydrogen, using the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub Funding Opportunity as a catalyst for its early activities. However, low-carbon-intensity hydrogen was never intended to be the Center’s sole focus. The name AzCaNE reflects a broader ambition to advance multiple pathways toward carbon-neutrality; the organization is committed to overcoming the challenges of low-carbon-intensity development. AzCaNE is poised to play a critical role in Arizona’s economic security and low-carbon-intensity energy future.
AzCaNE takes an “all of the above” approach to achieving a low-carbon and sustainable future, recognizing that no single solution will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
AzCaNE brings together leading experts in bioenergy, biomass management and sustainable technologies to transform organic bioresources into renewable fuels and valuable products.
By converting agricultural residue, dairy biogas and other bioresources into low-carbon energy and usable products, AzCaNE is advancing circular economy strategies that support a carbon-neutral future.
Extensive reservoirs of oil, gas and natural carbon dioxide in the Southwest make it an ideal place to explore carbon capture, utilization and storage.
The area benefits from existing CO2 pipelines and geological formations, facilitating enhanced oil recovery and deep brine storage; these support large-scale storage solutions and address technical challenges.
As the world navigates rising CO2 emissions, low-carbon-intensity hydrogen stands out as a promising solution for enhancing energy security.
AzCaNE balances near-term solutions, like upgrading industrial equipment to cut emissions, with longer-term investments like low-carbon-intensity hydrogen infrastructure.
No single technology or pathway can meet the scale or complexity of our ongoing energy, resource and carbon management challenges.
AzCaNE works across disciplines to assess and advance diverse strategies—from long-duration energy storage and electrification to sustainable land use, circular economy and beyond—to build a holistic path toward a carbon-neutral economy in Arizona.
As the U.S. advances its clean energy transition, hydrogen is emerging as a critical solution for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries. The new Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (45V) is designed to accelerate this shift by making low-carbon hydrogen more competitive.
This paper explores Treasury’s final rules for the credit and outlines how producers, policymakers, and stakeholders can respond. It provides insights into the opportunities and challenges of these rules from multiple perspectives—environmental, economic, security, and social—while offering a framework for how stakeholders can adapt strategies to ensure both compliance and industry growth. An addendum provides the latest updates to federal guidance, supporting stakeholders with timely, practical direction as they navigate the complexities of building a clean hydrogen economy.
October 17, 2025 A landmark global deal to cut shipping emissions has fallen apart after the US and Saudi Arabia blocked its final approval in London. The agreement would have made shipping the first industry with mandatory global targets for cleaner fuels, but threats of tariffs from the Trump administration derailed it, leaving climate advocates warning of a major setback for global decarbonization efforts.
September 15, 2025 Governor Katie Hobbs signed Executive Order 2025-13 to streamline energy infrastructure development, reduce costs, and expand Arizona’s clean energy economy. The order creates the Arizona Energy Promise Taskforce to accelerate projects, support affordability studies, and help Tribes advance energy sovereignty amid rising demand and federal policy changes.
August 7, 2025 Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project have agreed to buy capacity on Transwestern Pipeline’s new Desert Southwest expansion, which will deliver gas from Texas to Arizona. The $5.3 billion project aims to meet soaring electricity demand from data centers, as APS reports over 4.5 GW of committed large loads and expects power sales to rise up to 6% annually through 2027.
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