NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., who also serves as executive director of the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal & Power Plant Communities & Economic Revitalization, will deliver a keynote address when the Marshall Plan for Middle America holds its Kick-Off Summit on Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5.

Anderson will discuss “Energy Transition in America: A Whole-of-Government Approach” during his remarks at 2:25 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

Joining Anderson at the summit will be Briggs White, Ph.D., advisor to the Office of the Director, NETL, and deputy executive director for the IWG.

White will participate in a panel discussion titled “Silo-Busting and Why Cross-Sectoral Partnerships are Key to Driving Energy and Economic Innovation,” which will begin at 2:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday. New ways of working to get better projects designed, funded and implemented will be explored.

The summit is an immersive four-part virtual series held from 2-4:30 p.m. ET each day of scheduled activities. All events are free. Click here to register and for more information.

MP4MA calls for building a regional, multi-sectoral coalition of stakeholders to drive investment in infrastructure and energy diversification. These efforts will catalyze more equitable economic recovery while laying a foundation for the Ohio Valley (including Upper Appalachia) to become a global leader in cleaner energy resources and circular economy practices.

Leaders from cities such as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Louisville, Kentucky, have supported the plan and called for more climate-friendly industrial growth — including jobs — across the region as the nation undergoes a transformational shift to clean energy.

Research from the initiative already has projected that the Ohio River Valley region could lose 100,000 jobs in the coming years as the fossil fuel industry continues to decline in the face of the economic and environmental realities of superior, cost-competitive renewable energy development.

Anderson was appointed by President Biden in April to lead the IWG.  

“Participating in the MP4MA Kick-Off Summit is a great opportunity to explain the projects and work we are undertaking to ensure coal and power plant communities are not left behind as we strive to attain net-zero carbon emissions in the power sector by 2035 and the broader economy by 2050, which are priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration,” Anderson said.

“The role of the IWG is to make certain that communities in the Ohio Valley, Upper Appalachia and other regions that have our fueled the nation’s prosperity can be revitalized through the creation of good-paying union jobs in new clean energy industries, manufacturing centers and efforts that focus on rebuilding infrastructure and environmental remediation.”

“I look forward to providing these updates and learning how we can collaborate with the MP4MA and its partners to achieve the goals we share,” he continued.

White joined NETL in 2007 and most recently served as a technology manager for three research and development programs, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management: High Performance Materials, Water Management and Energy Storage. 

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.