SLO County business leaders attend energy summit in Washington, D.C.

By Melanie Cleveland

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Five local business leaders were among a group of 30 invited from the Central Coast to a mini-summit on clean energy today at Capitol Hill and the White House.

Attending the event were Mike Manchak, the head of San Luis Obispo County�s Economic Vitality Corp.; Patricia Wilmore, based at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in government affairs for Pacific Gas and Electric Co.; Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition leader John Van Bogart; and John and Stephanie Ewan of Pacific Energy Co., a renewable energy business in San Luis Obispo.

The five were invited to the gathering by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, whose coastal district includes San Luis Obispo.

�This was a tricounty discussion with leaders about creating green jobs and renewable businesses,� said Manchak, who called The Tribune while standing in front of the White House. �It�s been a wonderful opportunity to develop relationships with people who have a common vision to stimulate our local economy.

�In looking forward, the EVC and others are going to work with our congressional representatives to � put an organizational structure together, so that someone can lead this effort, and do nothing but that.�

The day-long meeting on Wednesday included members of Congress, senior officials from the Obama administration and experts in clean energy. Discussions were held about the government�s role in promoting cutting-edge clean technologies.

Such a summit is something Capps organizes every other year, said her spokeswoman, Emily Kryder. Two years ago, she invited local religious leaders to Washington discuss the role of faith in the politics.

Manchak and others went both to Capitol Hill and the White House to hear President Obama�s top advisers in energy issues. He also met with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican who represents inland areas of SLO County. He was also �very supportive of the green energy initiative,� Manchak added.

Among the featured speakers at the summit were House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland; Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming; Kate Gordon, vice president for energy policy at the Center for American Progress; Megan Uzzell, special assistant to the secretary, U.S. Department of Labor; Jacques Beaudry-Losique, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Daniel Weiss, director of climate strategy, Center for American Progress.

The group also met at the with Carol Browner and Heather Zichal, assistant and deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

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