Congresswoman Doris Matsui Wraps-Up Sacramento Renewable Energy for a Renewed Economy Tour
Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) wrapped-up her week-long Renewable Energyfor a Renewed Economy Tour, which included tours of and meetings withSacramento clean energy and green technology businesses. CongresswomanMatsui concluded her tour by announcing that she and otherCongressional Members such as Chairman Henry Waxman have formed theGreen Jobs Caucus in Congress, which is dedicated to quality jobtraining programs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields.
Congresswoman Doris Matsui Wraps-Up Sacramento Renewable Energy for a Renewed Economy Tour
Sacramento, CA - Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) wrapped-up her week-long Renewable Energy for a Renewed Economy Tour, which included tours of and meetings with Sacramento clean energy and green technology businesses. Congresswoman Matsui concluded her tour by announcing that she and other Congressional Members such as Chairman Henry Waxman have formed the Green Jobs Caucus in Congress, which is dedicated to quality job training programs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields.
As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, Rep. Matsui has been a long-time advocate of renewable energy and its benefits to the environment and to the economy, and will play a major role in comprehensive climate change and energy legislation.
Already this year, Congresswoman Matsui introduced the Smart Planning for Smart Growth Act of 2009, which aligns infrastructure and land use planning with greenhouse gas reduction goals to preserve resources and fight climate change. This legislation, H.R. 1780, was recently included in the comprehensive legislation that was introduced by Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.
Rep. Matsui made the following remarks at the conclusion of her tour:
"Today I completed a week-long tour of many of Sacramento's clean energy companies. I visited the new Gateway Tower East in Natomas, which will be the first privately funded LEED certified office building in Northern California, and is expected to be LEED certified Gold. I also visited the UC Davis-Onsite Power Systems Biogas Energy Project which converts organic wastes into bio-fuels and other valuable products.
"Yesterday, I visited the Renewable Energy Testing Center at McClellan Business Park, which is a unique facility designed and built for the testing and validation of renewable energy technologies, with a particular focus on conversion into biofuels for transportation. Once operational later this year, the Center will be extremely beneficial for local biomass companies, providing key metrics on performance to help accelerate the commercialization of these renewable energy technologies.
"I also learned how SMUD has utilized a local company, SynapSense, to make their data center more energy efficient. SynapSense data center solutions allows managers to identify energy savings through LiveImaging that assess current operating conditions, identifies opportunities for improvement, and quantifies efficiency improvements.
"These tours only scratched the surface of the important and cutting edge research happening in Sacramento. Sacramentans are leading the way in green energy technology and I will continue to work to make Sacramento the capital of clean, green technology."
Mike Hart, CEO of Sierra Energy said the following after meeting with Rep. Matsui: "The creation of the Renewable Energy Testing Center (RETC) allows the development of a technology that will allow millions of tons of waste to be converted to clean energy each year. Sierra Energy had searched for five years to find a suitable high-temperature testing facility that would yield independent results documenting the impacts of our technology; and now the RETC is located right in the heart of the newly emerging Sacramento green energy hub. It will allow for all the steps of converting waste to useable power and transportation fuels and the eventual reuse of the carbon dioxide to be evaluated, documented commercialized. Congresswoman Matsui's leadership in getting this facility funded opens the door to a whole field of green energy production."
For a complete schedule and pictures of Congresswoman Matsui's Renewable Energy for a Renewed Economy Tour, please visit www.matsui.house.gov
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