Leading legislator makes major offshore wind announcement to packed house at Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut offshore wind breakfast

Senator Paul Formica (R-20) chose a packed-house business leader breakfast hosted recently by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut to make a major announcement on offshore wind development: the Energy and Technology Committee recently agreed to work on legislation to add 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. 

More than 130 joined the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut for a bi-partisan panel on the economic opportunities of offshore wind. Business, industry, political and environmental leaders heard from a high-powered panel of experts, including:

• New London Mayor Michael Passero;

• Acting Commissioner of the CT Department of Economic and Community Development David Kooris;

• Deputy Secretary of State and Chairman of the CT Port Authority Scott Bates;

• Republican Senator and Co-Chair of Appropriations and Energy and Technology Committees Paul Formica;

• Orsted US Offshore Wind Head of New England Markets Matthew Morrissey;

• Vice President of Business Development at Eversource Michael Ausere; and

• Senior Policy Advocate for Acadia Center Deborah Donovan.                                                              

Pictured (left to right): Tony Sheridan (President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut), Amy McLean Salls (Senior Policy Advocate and Connecticut Director at Acadia Center), Matthew Morrissey (Orsted US Offshore Wind Head of New England Markets), Jessica Bergman (New England Programs and Engagement Director at Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy), Michael Passero (Mayor of New London), Deborah Donovan (Senior Policy Advocate at Acadia Center), Emily Lewis O'Brien (Senior Policy Analyst at Acadia Center), John Humphries (Organizer at CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs), Scott Bates (Deputy Secretary of State and Chairman of the CT Port Authority), Paul Formica (Republican Senator and Co-Chair of Appropriations and Energy and Technology Committees), and David Kooris (Acting Commissioner of the CT Department of Economic and Community Development).

Get the full story at the links below!

 News Coverage:

A  video recording of the event can be seen here:

In addition, The Day ran a news article:

Click here for the full story. Excerpts:

 "The announcement, made at a Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut breakfast, sparked applause..."

"We need to be a player in the game," Formica said. "We can develop New London and we have an opportunity ... to really focus on this new and emerging industry. Two-thousand megawatts is realistic and I think it sends a clear message that we are ready to jump into this industry and support it with everything that we have."'

Finally, The Day editorial board wrote about the news from the Eastern CT Chamber's event: 

Read the full text of the editorial here. Excerpts (emphasis added):

"If a decade down the road an ever-expanding offshore wind industry is one of the major economic engines for Connecticut, with the New London port serving as its nexus, Tuesday's extraordinary gathering of state and local leaders might be viewed as the point the talk turned serious."

 "The bipartisan panel of business, political and environmental leaders who attended the business breakfast, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticutat the Holiday Inn in New London, delivered a collective message that the state is prepared to be a serious player in the competition to capitalize on this opportunity."

 To learn more about offshore wind opportunities in your state please contact Jessica Bergman at Jbergman@sfchamber.com.

Boone Area Regional Chamber Co-Hosts Clean Energy Event Recognizing Sen. Deanna Ballard as “Clean Energy Champion”

If ever there was a setting for a perfect local chamber-hosted conversation about the growing economic opportunities in clean energy, this was one of them:

The setting: The Appalachian Mountain Brewery, which boasts solar panels on its roof, in Boone, North Carolina, a Blue Ridge Mountain town named for the explorer Daniel Boone.

The host: The Boone Area Regional Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy.

The special guests: Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-45)—the first State Senator to receive a “Clean Energy Champions Award” from a NC local chamber of commerce—who was joined by Rep. Jason Saine (R-45), who received the first “Clean Energy Champions Award in 2017.

Here are a few highlights of their conversation:

Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-45), 2018 Clean Energy Champion. “It has been my pleasure to work with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Commerce and Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy; and I am honored to be recognized as their Clean Energy Legislative Champion. The High Country is home to some of the nation’s most advanced and innovative energy technologies at Appalachian State University, and is home to many companies that are pioneers in corporate sustainability. I look forward to continuing to work alongside them, local businesses, and my fellow legislators in advancing clean energy jobs and investments and finding more ways to support renewable generation efforts across the state and #NC45.”
 

Rep.Jason Saine (R-45), 2017 Clean Energy Champion. “It is a well-known fact that the country’s leading corporations, including almost half of the Fortune 500, are trying to meet their aggressive sustainability goals by doing business in states with strong clean energy policies. Locations that want to attract economic investment from these companies are going to have to embrace these emerging industries and have policies in place that allows them to thrive.”

David Jackson, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO. “Our natural resources are the part of our tourism economy that set us apart from the rest of the state. They can also be attractive distractions to those that choose to live and work here. Often the people who are recruited to work in these environments have a passion for sustainable tech and innovation. The further connection of these opportunities will only help our region attract more high paying jobs while giving those employees and excellent setting to work and play."

Local Chambers, Communities Will Drive the Economic Opportunities of Clean Energy in 2017

Governor, Local Chamber CEOs are Positive about Opportunities for Clean Energy Growth in 2017

Doug Luciani, TraverseConnect

It all comes down to being competitive, local chamber CEOs from across the nation said in a briefing call last week that featured former Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado.

The economic opportunities of clean energy help communities to be more competitive—by attracting greater investments to their regions, growing jobs, reducing costs, responding to demand, and attracting young talent.

That is why clean energy will continue to be a growing market in 2017—and why many local chambers of commerce will be at the forefront, advancing clean energy as an opportunity that is in the best interest of businesses in their regions.

Mainstream economic issue

“This is a mainstream economic development conversation now, and local chambers are in middle of that conversation because we are trusted conveners on issues that affect communities,” said Doug Luciani, CEO of TraverseConnect in Michigan, which cohosted the call.

“Local leadership and best practices are being set by communities,” he added. “Regions that are going to succeed in attracting the brightest and best are going to be regions that fully embrace these new technologies, doing the right thing for the right reasons.”

“The economic opportunity has to do with job creation in the clean energy world,” said former Gov. Ritter, Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University. And there has been tremendous progress at the local and state level over the past three months, he said.

Advances since the election

Former Gov. Bill Ritter (CO)

Clean energy job and investment growth have progressed in a number of states since the election, including:

• In Illinois, the Governor (R) signed a significant energy bill that will reinvigorate the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, boost solar and wind investments and jobs, and cut energy costs statewide.

• In Ohio, the Governor (R) vetoed a bill that would have extended a freeze on the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, saying allowing it to continue would “undermine the progress” renewable energy companies have made in creating jobs in Ohio and amount to “self-inflicted damage to both our state’s near- and long-term economic competitiveness.”

• In Michigan, the Governor (R) signed a bill to strengthen the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard—requiring the state to generate 15 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2021.

• In Maryland, the Legislature passed a Clean Energy Jobs Act to ensure that the state get 25 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2020.

• In New York, the Governor (D) announced a goal to phase out all coal-fired power plants by 2020.

Utilities, Corporations, and Chambers

“Utilities will also play key role in this clean energy transition,” Ritter said. “They are planning 20, 30, 40 years into the future.”

With a growing number of corporations committed to transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy—from tech giants Google, Facebook, and Apple to GM, Johnson & Johnson, and Nestle—clean energy job and investment growth will clearly go to states that can provide the renewables.

Local chambers can help by convening dialogues about how to meet growing demand and provide market certainty, and then taking their message to state capitols, said Ritter.

“Chambers of commerce have such significant influence inside so many statehouses,” he added; “it would really benefit all to have that conversation.”