Renewable energy? Not to worry. Folks in these parts have it covered. Fact is, we aren't a bit shy when it comes to developing renewable energy. For evidence supporting that very bold assertion, one need look no further than Initiative 937, a measure that stole the hearts of a solid majority of voters here a mere five years back.
Then, too, there's the State Energy Strategy, a collaborative effort championed by a wide range of extraordinary principles. The House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee, chaired by state Rep. John McCoy, has a lead role in this important mission. Voices of the Washington State Department of Commerce, the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission, and other state agencies also feature prominently in putting the Energy Strategy together. Advisory committee members, using input from key stakeholders and private citizens, are working toward development of the 2012 State Energy Strategy which will be submitted for consideration this coming December.
The draft 2012 State Energy Strategy can be yours for the reading at the state Department of Commerce website noted above. In fact, you best be marking your social calendar for a couple of upcoming, very special public meetings called to discuss the Energy Strategy. One meeting is planned 6 to 8, tonight, Oct. 12, in the Vicky L. Carwein Auditorium of the University of Washington Tacoma campus, 1900 Commerce St. A second get-together is set 5 to 7, Thursday evening, Oct. 20, in Academic Center Room 107 of the Washington State University Spokane campus, 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd.
McCoy's committee will also discuss this titanic issue in its December meeting, with an eye toward developing pertinent energy legislation for review in the 2012 session of the Legislature. The Snohomish County lawmaker said distributed energy encompasses "a range of small power generation and energy-storage technologies that are placed at or near the actual point of energy-consumption."
