RICHLAND, Wash. — The US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm went to the Tri-Cities for the first time Thursday. She and US Senator of Washington, Maria Cantwell have big dreams for the Tri-Cities and beyond.
Their goals to combat the world’s climate change starts in Washington. Secretary Granholm said the goal is to use 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and have zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Washington is like number 2 in the country in terms of clean energy, so you are working and it’s fantastic as a model for other states,” said Secretary Granholm.
Secretary Granholm and Senator Cantwell gathered with community leaders at a roundtable. They said they were impressed with how determined leaders were to make these goals happen.
Energy Northwest brought a lot to the table being already carbon-free –and is leading the way in solar energy.
“We’re very happy to see that they were just as excited in that as we were and what I heard is that they’re both ready to help us achieve that goal,” said Energy Northwest CEO, Bob Schuetz.
Secretary Granholm and Senator Cantwell toured the Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Scientists showed them studies to reduce the devastation wildfires cause in the Pacific Northwest.
“People are working very hard,” said Secretary Granholm. “To try to build in the information that will help out cities, our firefighters and everybody in the future understand the conditions.”
Senator Cantwell says she’s excited to create more jobs in the industry all while keeping clean energy costs low.
