The new Clean Power Plan introduced by President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now a few weeks old. According to the EPA, the Clean Power Plan “puts states in the driver’s seat.”
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| Administrator McCarthy |
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| Will Einstein |
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| Steve Gerritson |
An article written by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy explains:
The Clean Power Plan sets uniform carbon pollution standards for power plants across the country—but sets individual state goals based on states’ current energy mix and where they have opportunities to cut pollution. States then customize plans to meet their goals in ways that make sense for their communities, businesses, and utilities.
With the Clean Power Plan now in play, States across the nation are working diligently to determine what exactly it means for their power plants, rate payers and cleantech sector as a whole. It’s still unclear what exactly it means for Washington State, which accounts for only 1.34% of total U.S. emissions according to US News.
According to Puget Sound Energy’s Will Einstein, Director of New Product Development (and CleanTech Alliance Board Member):
PSE is carefully reviewing the more than 1,500 pages of rule changes to the EPA’s Clean Energy Plan. We’re particularly interested in how the plan will impact customer bills, and how it treats the substantial investments our customers have made in the last decade, which includes three wind farms in Washington State, recent upgrades to our hydro facilities, and our energy efficiency programs. Our goal is to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining reliability that is economically responsible for our customers.
Steve Gerritson, Vice President of the EDC of Seattle-King County (and CleanTech Alliance Board Chair) told 425 Business what the Clean Power Plan could potentially mean for Washington State cleantech companies serving other states:
We’ll continue to do rooftop solar and probably a little more wind development. But I think the main advantage that we’re going to have is technology exports.
Over the next several weeks, the CleanTech Alliance will be posting more interviews and quotes from our members – including executive comments from Avista Utilities, Snohomish PUD and Energy Northwest.