BOSTON - (Business Wire) Over fifty representatives of the clean technology sector descended on Washington DC for the first Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI) Policy Tour held March 5
th, 2008. Participants launched an initiative to educate US elected officials on the importance and interrelated needs of the clean technology community. In just under a day and a half, tour members:
- Conducted over 45 meetings with Representatives, Senators, Hill staff, and senior officials at the Department of Energy.
- Covered over twenty US states in their meetings, including California, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, and Michigan.
- Met with key policy leaders on critical Committees and Subcommittees, including Appropriations, Budget, Energy & Commerce, Science & Technology, Energy Independence & Climate Change, Small Business, Ways & Means, Transportation & Infrastructure, and Environment & Public Works.
- Prioritized legislation of importance to the sector, highlighting the need for stability, a more level playing field, and increased research and development support.
Proving that clean technology is much more than just an investment sector, companies and organizations came together to work together on a common agenda. Technologies represented included solar, wind, fuel cells, energy efficiency, demand response, hydrogen, water purification, nuclear, biofuels, and clean coal. Project financing, venture capital, and institutional investor participants emphasized how decision-making and investment strategy depended on clear and long-term policy developed in Washington.
Senators and Members of Congress welcomed the broad coalition and the addition of the CTSI organization as an unbiased information resource on clean technology issues. Converging energy, water, and resource challenges, in addition to regional and global climate change initiatives, are driving greater federal interest in and commitment to clean and sustainable technologies.
Tour members gave first-hand examples of how current federal policy actions affect their businesses and the overall economy. Without an extension of the renewable energy tax credits, new project financing is expected to end by mid-year in addition to the predicted loss of 50,000-60,000 solar installation jobs.
A sample of companies and organizations participating in the tour included: MMA Renewable Ventures, Applied Materials, Calvert Group. Ernst & Young, Babcock & Wilcox, Ricardo, Lux Research, Sopogy, Solar Power Partners, SunPower Corporation, Nuclear Energy Institute, American Hydrogen Corporation, Element Markets, Site Controls, Active Power, Gridpoint, Mountain Logic, Infinia, Think 21, SolPower, Cleantech America, Solfocus, Bose Research & Development, Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Buchanan Ingersoll, PHYchip Corporation, American Solar Works, Innovative Thin Films.
K&L Gates, an international law firm and one of Washington DC’s largest lobbying organizations, sponsored the tour. Members of the firm’s emerging technologies practice assisted with meeting scheduling, messaging, and lobbying education for tour participants.
“We look forward to presenting an update on the results and actions taken as a result of the Tour at the Cleantech Technology 2008 conference in Boston,” said Patricia Glaza, Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Executive Director. “Participants and CSTI member corporations will have the opportunity to provide feedback and input on the follow-up activities and plan for the next Washington trip.”
About CTSI
The Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI) is a non-profit 501c6 organization advancing the development, commercialization and global adoption of clean technologies and sustainable industry practices through a community of industry, academic, and government leaders committed to a safer, cleaner and more productive world.
The CTSI represents the organizations developing, commercializing, and implementing technologies that will enable energy and natural resource stability and security. The membership-driven CTSI helps identify and promote the technologies that have the greatest opportunity to address the challenges of energy supply, energy demand, water supply, climate change, and environmental protection and clean-up.
For more information on the CTSI, future policy tours contact, Patricia Glaza, CTSI Executive Director, pglaza@ct-si.org, 774-245-2658.
For more information on Clean Technology 2008 contact, Michael Doyle, mdoyle@csievents.org, 925-321-0903.
CTSI
Patricia Glaza, CTSI Executive Director, 774-245-2658
pglaza@ct-si.org
or
For Clean Technology 2008
Michael Doyle, 925-321-0903
mdoyle@csievents.org
