Administrator Elliot Mainzer participates in a panel on the challenges and opportunities for state and regional actions that could help the Northwest address clean energy goals.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz joined clean energy leaders and elected officials from across the Northwest on Aug. 15 to discuss the region’s clean energy challenges and opportunities. In his keynote address at the Northwest Regional Clean Energy Innovation Partnership Workshop, Moniz recognized BPA’s Technology Innovation program and its role in “moving the innovation agenda.” He added BPA has been a “leader of deploying smart technologies like synchrophasors on the grid.”
The University of Washington hosted the workshop, which included panel discussions aimed at advancing clean energy innovation and regional collaboration. BPA Administrator Elliot Mainzer participated in a panel titled “Policies and Activities to Accelerate Regional Leadership.”
Mainzer highlighted energy efficiency as the foundation of clean energy solutions in the Northwest. He also discussed the importance of non-wires solutions, such as demand response and redispatch, to avoid building new infrastructure and to help stretch existing assets where possible. And he pointed to the Technology Innovation program, led by Terry Oliver, through which BPA leverages partnerships to advance clean energy solutions.
“Terry and his team in Technology Innovation have done a great job for BPA over the years,” Mainzer said. “We have incredible intellectual capital and tremendous opportunity to demonstrate new technologies. Through our infrastructure and our partnerships, we have the ability to continue pushing the envelope on R&D for years to come.”