Published: Saturday, December 26, 2009
GUEST COMMENTARY / CLIMATE CHANGE
It’s time to build our clean economy
The world met in Copenhagen this month to cool down our climate. Now it’s our job to heat up our economy and secure our energy future with solutions to global warming — solutions like the ones we’re pioneering right here in Snohomish County and surrounding areas. We need action from Congress to accelerate these solutions.
Most economic news is tough these days, but the region’s clean economy is vibrant and growing. Entrepreneurs are inventing technologies to power our lives with homegrown crops, tidal energy and even cow patties. We’re capitalizing on smart government programs for investment and tax credits, and creating careers building the energy systems of the future. These are a few examples worth building on.
n The Snohomish County PUD recently won $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to pioneer tidal power. The PUD believes there is significant potential to generate clean, reliable energy from Admiralty Inlet’s daily ebb and flow, powering thousands of homes with no detriment to the environment.
Beyond tidal energy, the utility is also pursuing geothermal, wind, biomass, solar and low-impact hydropower. And this fall, the PUD also secured $16 million in federal stimulus funds to upgrade to a smarter grid that can integrate these green energy sources, creating up to 76 green jobs in the local economy.
n Earlier this month, AltAir Fuels announced a partnership of farmers, local research firm Targeted Growth, Tesoro Oil, and 14 major airlines to make the northwest a world leader in aviation fuels from sustainable crops.
AltAir Fuels will buy camelina crops from northwest farmers, refining up to 750 million gallons of fuel in a new Anacortes facility to sell to airlines at SeaTac International Airport. Grown in rotation with wheat, camelina offers farmers a cash crop that can be made into jet fuel at competitive prices.
Preliminary research shows it can eliminate up to 80 percent of the carbon pollution from traditional jet fuel. AltAir estimates that the first facility can replace up to 10 percent of SeaTac’s fossil energy, trimming carbon pollution by 14 billion pounds over the next decade.
Moreover, the AltAir project will supply hundreds of new northwest jobs if completed. Snohomish County’s largest employer, Boeing, has been a leader in helping airlines pioneer sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels.
n Farm Power in Mount Vernon and Qualco Energy in Monroe are turning cow manure from nearby dairies into clean energy for area homes.
Farm Power’s new anaerobic digester converts methane from 1,200 dairy cows’ manure into enough electricity to power 500 local homes. And Qualco Energy, an innovative partnership of local farmers, the Tulalip Tribes and a salmon advocacy group, has recently christened a biodigester that earns $300,000 a year powering some 300 homes on the Snohomish County PUD grid.
The biodigesters produce profitable clean energy, cow bedding and fertilizer. Moreover, the digesters eliminate methane pollution, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recently that that the USDA intends to increase dramatically its investment in biodigester technology, and our homegrown cow power projects are leading the way.
We’re looking for champions who will promote strong policies that invest in our community’s growing clean economy. Our leaders at Snohomish County and the Snohomish County PUD deserve great credit for their vision, as do Gov. Chris Gregoire and Reps. Rick Larsen and Jay Inslee for their commitment to clean solutions with last June’s American Clean Energy and Security Act.
Now that the U.N. climate talks are over, it’s up to Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to “bring it home” and help us power our economy past fossil fuels. The Senate must pass strong climate and clean-energy legislation that promotes practical and profitable solutions.
We have gotten started here. But for these early successes to really take off, the U.S. Senate must get serious about securing our energy future, investing in clean-energy careers and making America competitive in the global clean economy. If you share this vision, we urge you to remind our elected officials that it is time to lead.
Deborah Knutson is President and CEO of the Snohomish County Economic Development Commission. Nicole Faghin is Director of Planning and Environmental Services at Reid Middleton, Inc. Both are members of Business Leaders for Climate Solutions, an organization committed to Northwest leadership in the transition to a clean and energy-efficient economy.
Most economic news is tough these days, but the region’s clean economy is vibrant and growing. Entrepreneurs are inventing technologies to power our lives with homegrown crops, tidal energy and even cow patties. We’re capitalizing on smart government programs for investment and tax credits, and creating careers building the energy systems of the future. These are a few examples worth building on.
n The Snohomish County PUD recently won $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to pioneer tidal power. The PUD believes there is significant potential to generate clean, reliable energy from Admiralty Inlet’s daily ebb and flow, powering thousands of homes with no detriment to the environment.
Beyond tidal energy, the utility is also pursuing geothermal, wind, biomass, solar and low-impact hydropower. And this fall, the PUD also secured $16 million in federal stimulus funds to upgrade to a smarter grid that can integrate these green energy sources, creating up to 76 green jobs in the local economy.
n Earlier this month, AltAir Fuels announced a partnership of farmers, local research firm Targeted Growth, Tesoro Oil, and 14 major airlines to make the northwest a world leader in aviation fuels from sustainable crops.
AltAir Fuels will buy camelina crops from northwest farmers, refining up to 750 million gallons of fuel in a new Anacortes facility to sell to airlines at SeaTac International Airport. Grown in rotation with wheat, camelina offers farmers a cash crop that can be made into jet fuel at competitive prices.
Preliminary research shows it can eliminate up to 80 percent of the carbon pollution from traditional jet fuel. AltAir estimates that the first facility can replace up to 10 percent of SeaTac’s fossil energy, trimming carbon pollution by 14 billion pounds over the next decade.
Moreover, the AltAir project will supply hundreds of new northwest jobs if completed. Snohomish County’s largest employer, Boeing, has been a leader in helping airlines pioneer sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels.
n Farm Power in Mount Vernon and Qualco Energy in Monroe are turning cow manure from nearby dairies into clean energy for area homes.
Farm Power’s new anaerobic digester converts methane from 1,200 dairy cows’ manure into enough electricity to power 500 local homes. And Qualco Energy, an innovative partnership of local farmers, the Tulalip Tribes and a salmon advocacy group, has recently christened a biodigester that earns $300,000 a year powering some 300 homes on the Snohomish County PUD grid.
The biodigesters produce profitable clean energy, cow bedding and fertilizer. Moreover, the digesters eliminate methane pollution, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recently that that the USDA intends to increase dramatically its investment in biodigester technology, and our homegrown cow power projects are leading the way.
We’re looking for champions who will promote strong policies that invest in our community’s growing clean economy. Our leaders at Snohomish County and the Snohomish County PUD deserve great credit for their vision, as do Gov. Chris Gregoire and Reps. Rick Larsen and Jay Inslee for their commitment to clean solutions with last June’s American Clean Energy and Security Act.
Now that the U.N. climate talks are over, it’s up to Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to “bring it home” and help us power our economy past fossil fuels. The Senate must pass strong climate and clean-energy legislation that promotes practical and profitable solutions.
We have gotten started here. But for these early successes to really take off, the U.S. Senate must get serious about securing our energy future, investing in clean-energy careers and making America competitive in the global clean economy. If you share this vision, we urge you to remind our elected officials that it is time to lead.
Deborah Knutson is President and CEO of the Snohomish County Economic Development Commission. Nicole Faghin is Director of Planning and Environmental Services at Reid Middleton, Inc. Both are members of Business Leaders for Climate Solutions, an organization committed to Northwest leadership in the transition to a clean and energy-efficient economy.
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