Connecticut's Renewable Energy Sector

On Friday, August 7th, Congressman Christopher Murphy (D) from Connecticut’s 5th District organized an event at the Hill Stead Museum in Farmington, CT in which business leaders from Connecticut’s Renewable Energy sector spoke about the work their companies were involved in. Representatives from Apollo Solar, Fuel Cell Energy, Duracell Battery and Optiwind were present along with Congressman Murphy and former United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner, now Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Congressman Murphy strongly asserted his belief that Connecticut is well positioned to provide industry leadership in supporting the transformation of how we as a country generate, transmit and consume energy. He pointed out that Connecticut’s highly skilled workforce is a key element and advantage in bringing manufacturing and service sector jobs back to our State to support the anticipated growth in the renewable energy sector in the coming years. Business leaders from Apollo Solar, Fuel Cell Energy, Duracell Battery and Optiwind all enlightened the audience with descriptions of the projects which they were working on. It was exciting to envision the potential synergies that could result if collaboration was elevated between these companies. Carol Browner spoke about her experience as the Administrator of the US EPA, what was taking place on a national level as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, specifically in promoting the technological advancement of renewable energy technologies such as fuel cell, solar, wind, biomass, battery storage and smart grid technologies. See: http://www.fox61.com/news/wtic-renewable-energy-0807,0,5442848.story