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From September 18-22, 2017, i-SUSTAIN will lead a delegation of Washington state legislators and other elected officials to Denmark and Sweden to research sustainable energy infrastructure, investment and policy. The program will be modeled on the success of i-SUSTAIN’s 2015 research mission for Washington state legislators and senior administrators, from WSDOT and Gov. Inslee’s office (list of attendees below) in addition to private sector participants, such as Puget Sound Energy.
Thanks to the generosity of the Scan|Design Foundation, scholarships are once again available for 12 legislators and senior elected officials with energy related policy-making responsibilities.
Recognizing that energy policy that encourages local production of sustainable energy is non-partisan and can benefit economic development in both rural and urban areas of Washington state, i-SUSTAIN hopes to have a balanced number of scholarship participants from both political parties and from urban and rural areas.
Why Scandinavia?
Since 2004, i-SUSTAIN has taken public and private sector built environment professionals throughout the world to experience best practices. Over 30 delegations from Washington state have gone to Denmark and Sweden because Scandinavian cities are quite analogous to those in the Pacific Northwest and many of the policies and practices apply.
The long-term goal for Danish energy policy is clear: the nation’s entire demand for energy – electricity, heating, industry and transport – is to be supplied by renewable energy by 2050. No energy agreement has ever been reached by a larger and broader majority in the Danish Parliament than this one; and no Danish energy agreement has previously covered such a long time horizon. Because of this, a solid framework has been provided for the huge private and public investment to be made in the years to come.
This delegation will also visit the Swedish cities of Malmö and Växjö, who have used energy goals to foster economic development. Both nations have a long track record of energy innovation and project development to observe and learn from.
All i-SUSTAIN delegations are tailored to the participants needs. Below is a partial list of topics:
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Integrated solutions across the sectors of energy, water, climate, natural resources and the environment.
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Waste-to-energy and biomass plants, including Sweden to learn about the use of forest residue for bioenergy (the nation's leading energy source)
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Community wind and solar power
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Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) wood-frame tall buildings
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Role of utilities in managing distributed energy
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Denmark’s energy history and policies, and economic instruments to incentivize behavior
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Economic impacts in both countries of energy policies
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Sustainable transport plans and implementation of Denmark’s electric vehicle strategy
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New neighborhood development using smart grids
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Built environment energy policies
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Utility partnerships in developing electric vehicle industry
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Energy-independent communities, including Samsø Island, Denmark, which is 100% self-sufficient with renewable energy
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Sustainability across policies, including Växjö, Sweden, self-proclaimed “Greenest City in Europe”
The Experience
Our meetings and site visits will be punctuated with ample opportunities to enjoy Scandinavian culture - the city design, the architecture, the food and, yes, the weather! We will incorporate the use of excellent public transportation systems, as well as an introduction to Copenhagen’s bike culture and infrastructure, bicycle parking, bike bridges, bike paths, elevated cycle lanes and innovative bike projects, including suburban-urban commuting. The iti nerary will also include rural regions' energy and economic development best practices.
i-SUSTAIN always makes every effort to incorporate participants’ focus areas into the final itinerary. The early you are registered, the better we can accommodate your input.
Thank you for your interest.
Please visit www.i-sustain.com and direct your questions to sandy@i-sustain.com.
September 2015 Energy Delegation Participants
Jayson Antonoff — IMT, Technical Director of Public Policy Group
Steve Brooks — UMC, Engineer
Patricia Chase — i-SUSTAIN. CEO
Dave Danner — Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission, Chairman
Chris Davis — Office of Governor Jay Inslee, Senior Advisor – Energy and Carbon Markets
Joe Fitzgibbon — WA Legislature Representative
Cyrus Habib — WA Legislature Senator
Ken Johnson — Puget Sound Energy, Director of State Government Affairs
Nathanial Jones — City of Olympia, Washington, Olympia Mayor Pro/Tem; City Council
Duane Jonlin — Seattle Dept. of Planning and Development, Energy Code and Energy Conservation advisor
Marko Liias — WA Legislature Senator
Michael Mann — Cyan Strategies CEO
Jessica Matlock — Snohomish County Public Utility District, Government Relations Director
Nicole McIntosh — WA State Ferries, Terminal Design Engineer
Eric Moe — UMC Senior Developer, District Energy, Waste Heat Recovery, Cogeneration
Jeff Morris — WA Legislature Representative
Chuck Murray — Washington State Department of Commerce, State Energy Office, Senior Energy Policy Specialist
Nina Odell — Puget Sound Energy, Director Government Affairs & Public Policy
Sandy Palmer Neale — i-SUSTAIN, Business Development Manager
Strom Peterson — WA Legislature Representative
Mark Schleck — Scan|Design Foundation, Executive Director and Board Member
Amy Snover — University of Washington, Director, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington
Melanie Stambaugh — WA Legislature Representative
Allyn Stellmacher — ZGF, Design Partner
Dean Takko — WA Legislature Representative
Steve Tharinger — WA Legislature Representative
Bob Thompson — Scan|Design Foundation, Board Member
Kathy Vaughn — Snohomish County Public Utility District, Commissioner
Brady Walkinshaw — WA Legislature Representative
Polina Zaika — FIABCI, Owner and Principal
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