We are coming to the end of an extremely fast-paced and productive year for the Clean Energy Transition Institute. Our new team members are settling in; we launched a new project on rural clean energy development for Washington State Department of Commerce; finished one on green hydrogen; and our workforce analysis is getting a lot of attention.
November marked the beginning of work with the Washington State Department of Commerce, Ross Strategic, and Industrial Economics on a Rural Clean Energy Community Engagement and Economic Analysis study for the state. This project has two main objectives:
1) Rural Community Engagement: Determine the desires of rural Washingtonians regarding clean energy development to ensure that the state's clean energy policies benefit and reflect the interests of rural communities.
2) Economic Analysis: Perform a detailed economic impact analysis on the direct and indirect economic and financial impacts of clean energy projects located in and near rural Washington communities.
The final report is due to the Washington Legislature in December 2024.
In an exciting development for the region, the U.S. Department of Energy chose the PNWH2 Hub as one of seven national hydrogen hubs to receive federal funding. For a refresher on hydrogen and clean fuels pathways, check out CETI’s Green Electrolytic Hydrogen Pathways blog and infographic, as well as our Net-Zero Northwest clean fuels findings.
We spent much of 2023 with Evolved Energy Research diving into the role of green electrolytic hydrogen for a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce, producing "Green Electrolytic Hydrogen and Renewable Fuels: Recommendations for Deployment in Washington State," in mid-September. The report provided technical analysis of the potential for developing green electrolytic hydrogen in the Evergreen state, environmental justice considerations and siting considerations, as well as policy recommendations for the state. Commerce will deliver the final report to the Washington State Legislature this month.
On November 15, CETI released the Northwest’s first comprehensive clean energy workforce analysis, Net-Zero Northwest Workforce. The study examines jobs in the buildings, fuels, electricity, and transportation sectors that would be created or displaced if the Northwest were to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, as modeled in CETI’s NZNW Energy Pathways analysis.
Overall, the clean energy transition will benefit regional employment, but equitable workforce development will not happen without significant commitment and collaboration among key economic development stakeholders.
On December 12 at 10 AM, we will be hosting a webinar, "Northwest Stands to Gain Jobs with Clean Energy Transition," to explore the NZNW Workforce analysis findings. With over 100 people registered so far, we are excited for the conversations this event will generate and hope that you will join us.
Since releasing the Net-Zero Northwest Energy Pathways and Health Impacts analyses in June, we have received a wide range of questions from stakeholders engaging with this work. We are excited to share our new FAQ document to address many of these questions. The document will be updated with FAQs related to the Workforce analysis in 2024.
CETI received a $20,000 grant from The Russell Family Foundation’s Catalytic Climate Finance Program. We will use these funds to support our Community-Defined Decarbonization work, which aims to understand barriers to decarbonizing rural, low-income, energy-burdened communities and ways that clean energy development might address energy inequities in these communities.
As you think about your final charitable donations for 2023, we hope that you will keep the Clean Energy Transition Institute in mind. We depend upon individual donor donations to cover a significant portion of our expenses. If you wish to contribute, you may either send checks to 4616 25th Avenue NE, #416, Seattle, WA 98105, or donate online. We are exceptionally grateful to all our funders and thank you very much for your support.
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