Administrative Assistant

Phone: (480) 965-4766

Email: Angela.phillips@asu.edu

Melissa Gamez

Researcher

Phone: (480) 965-9286

Email: melissa.gamez@asu.edu

Or electronically to: wpcareyseid@asu.edu

The current report, commissioned by Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz):

• summarizes the current  state of the A&D industry within Arizona;
• identifies key players and developments that could yield additional growth to the industry;
• provides an overview of best practice in other states;
• evaluates the threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths of Arizona’s A&D industry;
• identifies a range of strategic choices open to the A&D industry within Arizona today; and
• recommends a plan to enable the industry to maximize its opportunities while simultaneously minimizing the impact of any weaknesses and protecting itself against threats.

Drawing from a literature review and in-depth interviews with five industry stakeholders, the report examines the business environment, the supply chain, research competitiveness, workforce, educational policies, and the case for an Aerospace Institute.

Project Files:

Aerospace & Defense Industry in Arizona (March 2011)

The Arizona Investment Council (AIC) seeks to establish a favorable investment climate within the state via active participation in public venues where investment in infrastructure and utilities is discussed and debated.  The organization also gives high priority to public education in the areas of utility economics, service choices, new technologies, economic and environmental regulations and policies, infrastructure requirements and consumer and investor interests.

In 2008, the AIC commissioned The Seidman Institute to examine Arizona’s infrastructure needs over the next 25 years in four core areas:

• Energy
• Telecommunications
• Transportation
• Water

Using demographic forecast data produced by Elliott D. Pollack & Company, the Seidman Research Institute produced a 500-page report examining the impact of the creation of cutting-edge telecommunication, energy, transportation, and water and wastewater infrastructure networks upon the economic growth and prosperity of Arizona.

In November 2009, the ASBA commissioned The Seidman Institute to identify improvements to the fiscal system of Arizona’s state government, to help engender a competitive 21st century economy. Completed in May 2010, the resultant report recommended:

• The pursuit of a revenue system that directly supported an economic development agenda; and
• Greater reliance upon less volatile sources of revenue.

Download Report

Arizona’s Solar Market Analysis and Research Tool (AzSMART) is a breakthrough decision environment that enables stakeholders to examine the complex interaction of policy, economic, energy security, environmental, and technical issues that impact Arizona’s ability to become an international leader in solar power innovation and development.

The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive utility- and distributed-scale analysis tool, tailored to the examination of a successful roll-out of large-scale solar energy infrastructure in Arizona, and to develop the required electric grid technologies to enable that infrastructure.  Multi-disciplinary research efforts and capabilities at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona are being harnessed in close collaboration with partners from industry, government and Science Foundation Arizona in the creation and use of AzSMART.

Launched this month, the latest version of AzSMART is a utility-scale oriented, incarnation of the tool, presented in an immersive seven-screen visualization environment at The Decision Theater at ASU.

Utilizing scenarios which focus upon solar deployment at various sites within Arizona, the tool:

• Highlights through GIS mapping how to identify solar-feasible areas and how a relaxation of some GIS filters causes a significant amount of additional solar-feasible areas to emerge.  Reference is also made to descriptors of the identified land areas and potential constraints to their development.
• Uses an integrated version of PowerWorld (mapping the entire western region transmission system) to analyze the technical feasibility of including identified land areas within the current transmission system and proposed changes to it.
• Estimates various financial, economic and environmental consequences related to increased solar generation deployment.
• Identifies trade-offs and offers public policy options that impact upon the financial, economic and environmental outcomes.

AzSMART is already interactive, live and integrated but is currently utility-scaled to allow for the testing of the integration of its elements.  It will ultimately develop into an all-encompassing utility- and distributed-scale tool, tailored to the decision environments of the different stakeholder groups (from householders to the Governor) and will be available online desktop formats.

To learn more about Az SMART, please visit azsmart.org

White Papers:

Impact of Solar Generation upon Arizona’s Energy (Electricity) Security (November 2011)

Energy Sector Technology (August 2011)

Market-Based Incentives (November 2010)

Regulation and Standards in the Energy Sector and their Effect on Solar Deployment (July 2010)

Present and Future Cost of New Utility- Scale Electricity Generation (July 2010)

The Market-Determined Cost of Inputs to Utility-Scale Electricity Generation (November 2009)

Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing’s global workforce includes more than 5,000 employees based in eleven Arizonan cities. Approximately 90% of the Arizonan employees are based at Boeing’s Mesa facility, which was responsible for the AH-64D Apache Longbow.

A vital contributor to the Arizona economy for over three decades, Boeing has commissioned The Seidman Institute to produce two economic impact studies.

The first, commissioned in 2007, drew from the following six components to measure Boeing’s total economic impact upon the state of Arizona in 2005:

• Direct economic impact of Boeing’s operations in Arizona
• Direct effects of Boeing’s purchases from Arizonan suppliers
• Multiplier effects from payroll
• Multiplier effects from supplier purchases
• State and local tax revenue effects
• Other effects such as donations and community philanthropy.

This was followed in 2009 by a report measuring the economic impact of the Boeing-led ground-based midcourse defense program within Arizona during 2007.