by Alex Russell
Today and tomorrow, Dec. 4, EPA chief Lisa P. Jackson is making her first official appearances in the Northwest at two Seattle events. Today she held a press conference at Pier 66 to discuss American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for clean diesel investments. Tomorrow, Jackson will sit with Gov. Gregoire, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and others at a Clean Energy and Economy Forum at McKinstry Innovation Center in Georgetown.
Along with the forum, Jackson will take a tour of McKinstry's Innovation Center, scheduled for completion in spring 2010. The Center was conceived as a way to bring together emerging companies to foster innovation in clean energy and conservation technologies.
“We are on the forefront of creating some of the most innovative solutions to eliminate energy waste in the built environment,” McKinstry CEO Dean Allen told the Seattle Chamber of Commerce in November. “Now with the Innovation Center we will have the opportunity to quickly advance new technologies that are working toward that goal, as well as partnering with innovative entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market.”
In January, McKinstry won a US Department of Energy contract worth $5 billion through prior US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman's Transformational Energy Action Management initiative. The contract, one of 16 awarded to service companies across the country, is part of an effort to save $80 billion for federally-owned buildings through renewable energy and water conservation projects.
Lisa P. Jackson was unanimously confirmed by the Senate soon after President Obama nominated her to lead the EPA. Before then Jackson had served as Chief of Staff for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and was Commissioner of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection. Jackson is also a 16-year employee of the EPA.
Tomorrow's forum takes place at 11:45 in the McKinstry Innovation Center at 5005 Third Ave. South in Seattle.
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