E2 Briefing for House staff. Left to right: Jerry Fiddler, Gordon Davidson, Nicole Lederer, Steve Cowell, Bill Capp and John Castellaw. Click to enlarge image.

On September 14 a delegation of E2 members and military partners traveled to Washington, D.C. to spread the message that the relationship with the Department of Defense (DOD) is win-win: clean energy solutions make our military more effective and save lives, while DOD procurement drives the American clean energy economy.

In support of that mission the group attended a high-level meeting with senior Senators where they discussed the importance of partnering with DOD to save the country money, reduce casualties associated with oil procurement and use, and to advance our investment in US -made clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. In our discussions with DOD, E2 found that while the current engagement level of the military is positive, there is still work to be done to enhance progress in the Armed Services and to get Congress and the Administration on board. We shared our findings with the Senators with whom we met, who showed strong interest in supporting DOD initiatives in this arena. While the exact details of the meeting are private, we are looking forward to some positive outcomes.

Additionally, in the face of the massive publicity around the demise of solar cell manufacturer Solyndra, which received a Department of Energy Loan Guarantee before going bankrupt days before our arrival in DC, our E2 team spread the message to members of the House of Representatives and their staff that they are in fact creating jobs and significantly growing the clean economy. A briefing hosted by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ), was attended by staffers from over 20 congressional offices. Here E2 members had a chance to educate the audience on what their companies are doing, the number of jobs they are creating in all regions of the country, and how private sector partnership with DOD could have very positive results if Congress crafts supportive policies.

Completing our meeting on Capitol Hill, the E2 team met with members of the New Democrats Energy Task Force and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, two important groups for advancing the goals of a clean energy economy in Congress. In attendance were Reps. Perlmutter (D-CO), Lofgren (D-CA), Moran (D-VA), Holt (D-NJ) and McGovern (D-MA), as well as staff representing 30 other offices. This meeting allowed all parties an opportunity for a valuable exchange of ideas about strategy for pushing back on the narrative that the clean economy is foundering.

That narrative seemed to grow louder the week of our team’s arrival due to the bankruptcy of Solyndra. Because of our presence on Capitol Hill that day, our team was able to meet with a group of energy industry reporters and relay to them that the clean energy economy is much larger than the failure of one company. Additionally, these same reporters were very interested in our members’ work with DOD.

As a result of all of these meetings E2 was featured in a front page Washington Post article and we released two opinion pieces that were picked up in The Hill and on Huffington Post.

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