Jigar Shah, the DOE Director of the Loan Programs Office, left, talks with participants of the Elected Officials to Protect America Climate Emergency & Energy Security Summit

August 18, 2022

By Ramona du Houx

At the Elected Officials to Protect America annual D.C. Climate Emergency & Energy Security Summit on August 15, over 450 elected officials from across the country were briefed by the White House and Department of Energy. EOPA also showcased exciting clean energy solutions.

“Connecting lawmakers, NGO’s, and clean energy companies, to create potential public-private partnerships was one of our goals at the summit as the Inflation Reduction Act will help us accelerate and scale these solutions. The IRA will make our nation more secure and help millions of families and hard working Americans,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, former Maine state Representative, Marine combat veteran, and President and Co-Founder of the EOPA. “We’re extremely grateful to the White House for joining us at the Summit and Ron Pierce, U.S. DOE Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and the entire team at the DOE for their informative presentations and hosting us.”

Alex Cornell du Houx , President of EOPA speaks at the DOE
Officials from the White House who spoke to participants at the EOPA Climate Emergency & Energy Security Summit

“Making sure state and local governments know about the climate benefits available to them is crucial for realizing President Biden’s all-of-government strategy for solving the climate emergency. It’s our hope that the partnerships forged in the Summit will help mitigate the climate crisis while creating thousands of jobs,” said Dominic Frongillo, Executive Director and Co-Founder of EOPA. “Lawmakers, impact investors, and climate entrepreneurs highlighted exciting, tested solutions on which we can work together to build a clean energy  future for all.”

The DOE is a major agency that will help implement the IRA.

Ron Pierce, U.S. DOE Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, hosted EOPA at the DOE and spoke along with his esteemed colleagues.

Jigar Shah, the DOE Director of the Loan Programs Office was another keynote speaker. Shah is notable for gaining prominence as an American clean energy entrepreneur, and author.  Shah set the stage when he remarked that the IRA was a huge deal but said in order to solve the climate crisis on the scale needed the investments have to be, “a trillion dollar scale.” He encouraged public-private partnerships to make it happen.

Non-administration speakers EOPA was honored to included were: Fawn Sharp, President National Congress of American Indians and VP of the Quinault Indian Nation; Stephan Nicoleau, Managing Director, FullCycle, Dennis O’Leary, CEO & CFO, Dark Pulse, Heidi Roddenberry, President & Board Chair, Roddenberry Foundation, Jonathan Shieber, Partner at Robert Downey Jr’s FootPrint Coalition and Satya Tripathi, Secretary-General of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet.

In the morning at a National Press Club press conference Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) lawmakers from across the country, who are also veterans, thanked Congressional leaders and President Biden for finalizing The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 — a critically important step for inflation, our nation’s security and the health of the planet. 

Veterans who are elected officials and tribal leaders spoke at the press conference. From left to right: NM State Representative Debbie Sariñana, Air Force Veteran, Fawn Sharp,President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Vice President and past President, Quinault Nation, Taholah, Washington State, Supervisor Mike Turner Loudoun County, VA, Air Force Veteran, Alex Cornell du Houx, former Maine state Representative, Marine combat veteran, and President of the Elected Officials to Protect America and Co-Founder, Yurok Tribe Councilmember Phillip Williams, CA, Army Veteran, Mayor Derrick R Wood Mayor, Town of Dumfries, VA, Marine Veteran and Allen Park City Councilmember Gary Schlack, MI, Army Veteran was also there.