Buildings that Act Like Guinea Pigs for Energy Efficiency: The Puget Sound Regional Council Plan for Green Jobs
The Prosperity Partnership: Everyone is looking for the next big thing during an economic downturn, whether it be individuals searching for ways to reinvent their careers after lags and layoffs, or whole regions needing to rebuild their economies.
by Thea Chard for Xconomy Seattle
Everyone is looking for the next big thing during an economic downturn, whether it be individuals searching for ways to reinvent their careers after lags and layoffs, or whole regions needing to rebuild their economies.
This region has a history as a technology and innovation hub, which has translated in the past to jobs—lots of them—primarily in software, engineering, and development. But what Microsoft’s 50,000-person campus can bring, Boeing’s layoffs can take away. With technology trends changing so fast, the Northwest, like any other region, is competing for ways to stay relevant and grow its economy and job base.
Considering the Northwest’s strengths in the tech sector, and the surging interest in clean energy, it seems the region is perfectly primed to become a leader in clean technology. All it needs is a little support to push it along. At least that’s the thinking from the folks at the Puget Sound Regional Council’s economic development arm, the Prosperity Partnership, a coalition of more than 300 government, business, community, and labor organizations throughout King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
After extensive research, the Prosperity Partnership determined that cleantech—and specifically, energy efficiency—could be an economic driver for the future. And after a year of planning, the group devised a strategic business plan that it hopes will help establish the central Puget Sound region as a global leader in clean research, technology, and innovation. The result was the Building Energy-Efficiency Testing and Integration Center and Demonstration Network, or the BETI Center for short.
