Call on States to Make Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy a Strong Part of State Plans

The National Advisory Council of Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, a network of more than 400 local chambers of commerce, issued the following statement today about the release of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan:

“As local chamber leaders, we recognize that energy efficiency and renewable energy deliver real economic development opportunities to communities like ours across the nation. We welcome their inclusion in the Clean Power Plan and strongly encourage state leaders to include energy efficiency and renewable energy as big elements of our state plans.

“We hope our state policymakers will develop a plan that benefits local economic development, minimizes economic hardship on businesses and consumers, and allows for flexible compliance opportunities.

“From technologies that make our electric grid smarter and more reliable to advanced batteries and more efficient buildings, clean energy is creating new market opportunities for our member businesses.

“While we look forward to better understanding the details of the Clean Power Plan, we are clear in our desire to see energy efficiency and renewable energy as critical components of the plan.”

Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy Advisory Council:

  • Steve Clark, President & CEO, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, AR
  • Doug Luciani, President, TraverseCONNECT, Traverse City Area Chamber, MI
  • James A. Heeter, President & CEO, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, MO
  • Cathy Bennett, Vice President, Public Policy and Programming, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, MO
  • Susan Munroe, President and CEO, Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce, OH
  • Ryan Evans, Vice President of Business and Community Relations, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, UT
  • Christy Gillenwater, President & CEO, Southwest Indiana Chamber, IN
  • John Threadgill, President & CEO, Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce, TN
  • John Tayer, President & CEO, Boulder Chamber of Commerce, CO
  • Angelique Espinoza, Public Affairs Director, Boulder Chamber of Commerce, CO
  • Marc Jordan, President & CEO, North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, SC
  • Kelly Thompson Clark, President and CEO, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, MA
  • Sarah Kennedy, Director of Government Affairs, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, MA
  • Bob Linscheid, President & CEO, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, CA, Co-Chair of CICE Advisory Council
  • Aaron Nelson, President & CEO, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, NC, Co-Chair of CICE Advisory Council
  • Diane Doucette, Executive Director, Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy

Local Chamber Leaders from Across the Nation* Respond to the Clean Power Plan

*Including Arkansas, California, North Carolina, Utah, Ohio, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan, Colorado and Tennessee

Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) is a national network of nearly 400 local chambers of commerce dedicated to helping chambers and member businesses successfully navigate and prosper in the clean energy space.

Members of CICE’s Advisory Council offered these statements on the day of the release of the Clean Power Plan:

  • “The Salt Lake Chamber has helped make clean air and energy efficiency a priority in Utah because the energy business is a $5.3 billion industry in our state. We’ve seen the bottom line benefits to companies that implemented energy efficiency programs. Our population will also double in the next 30 years, and we expect that about 60 percent of energy needs can be met with energy efficiency investments.”

Ryan Evans, Vice President of Business and Community Relations, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, UT

  • “We know firsthand how clean energy projects are a boon to the local economy. Our county was struggling before wind energy came to our community. Now the Blue Creek Wind Farm, pays $2 million annually in local taxes and nearly as much in landowner lease payments—with public schools being the primary beneficiaries.”

Susan Munroe, President and CEO, Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce, OH

  • “The Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business in our community—we are supported by 2,400 member businesses—and we know energy efficiency and renewable energy is good for business. It is good for job creation and good for growing fiscal vibrancy in the state and region.”

Cathy Bennett, Vice President, Public Policy and Programming, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, MO

  • “Everything we can do is what we should do in terms of energy efficiency, energy diversity, and really looking at what is the next generation of energy. This, in my opinion, is why chambers really exist: We should be the ones that are thinking about what’s going be the demand in 10 years. And for our chamber, energy is at the top of that list because we don’t know where it’s going to come from, we don’t know how much it’s going to cost. And, when you put it in context with all those other things that businesses are worried about, it could be the thing that tips the whole scale to where businesses are just not competitive in our region. So energy efficiency really matters.”

Doug Luciani, President, Michigan’s TraverseCONNECT (Traverse City Area Chamber)

Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) is a national network of local chambers of commerce that recognize the economic development opportunity of clean energy. CICE works with local chambers to offer programs that help them and their member companies successfully navigate and prosper in the clean energy space. www.chambersforinnovation.com

Cater CommunicationsSarah Golden, 415-453-0430sarah@catercommunications.comc: 415-548-1427