Kerry Meade on the importance of local leadership, especially now.

Show host Jeff Nichols speaks with Kerry Meade, the Executive Director of Seattle’s leading energy efficiency trade organization, Building Potential. Hear what Kerry thinks about the implications for building owners committed to energy efficiency, smart building technology, and other clean energy investments now that a new administration has been sworn in. For building owners and stakeholders already committed to transitioning their buildings and operations to renewable energy sources, is this a moment of pause or an opportunity for acceleration? Kerry explains why now is the ideal time for local market education and leadership to unlock and align regional players with mutual interests in sustainable energy infrastructure investment and development.    

Jeff and Kerry discuss the critical role of trade organizations, like Building Potential, in building a broader coalition of local governments and private businesses by partnering to develop energy policy and standards. They talk about the other players in this equation–and the importance of aligning with entities like public utilities (PUDs) to support and help drive the adoption of renewable power generation and distribution. Kerry underscores the value of these local partnerships along with energy service companies (ESCOs) who have the expertise to help stakeholders accelerate their adoption of clean building standards while helping to demystify the perceived difficulty and complexity of energy-saving retrofits.  

We live in an electrified future with demand only growing and putting more pressure on both the supply and demand side of our energy infrastructure. Kerry addresses the pressing question of what role the private sector can play in accelerating innovation and investment in clean energy infrastructure.  With weather patterns becoming more severe and unpredictable, it’s imperative to work towards decentralizing energy storage and transmission in partnership with local utilities that are bound by Federally established standards. How is the private sector uniquely positioned to disrupt the status quo and play a larger and more vital role in the future of sustainability? Kerry sees the future through the lens of what is possible bolstered by the reality that both blue and red states are working to achieve greater energy reliability and beginning to see the real economic benefits from their transition to a more sustainable future. 

 

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Reframe is hosted by Jeff Nichols and presented by Pilotlight