Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn kicked off the Midwest Industrial Energy Efficiency Summit Wednesday, strongly endorsing plans for a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Louis.
The summit is a kick-off to the 2012 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, which is cosponsored by World Resources Institute, Midwestern Governors Association, the Great Plains Institute and the Midwestern Energy Efficiency Alliance. The conference runs through Friday.
The energy alliance brings together a range of industries and energy stakeholders, including consultants, government policymakers, non-profits, and utility and manufacturing companies. Utilities such as Ameren Illinois Co., Exelon Corp. and its subsidiary Commonwealth Edison Co. are just a few local examples of the participants.
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The alliance creates energy efficiency programs and pitches them to leaders in various industries. The economic and political environment is not ideal for new conservation programs, but those in the energy field want to fix that. Conferences such as this stimulate ideas and produce a game plan for addressing current economic woes, attendees said.
Quinn not only supports the work and mission of the efficient energy conference, but he also challenged attendees to match his enthusiasm for saving energy.
“We need to promote industrial energy productivity and produce ideas that we can roll up our sleeves and work on,” said Quinn.
