President's Environmental Advisor Touts Clean Energy Jobs In Connecticut

President Obama’s key environmental policy advisor visited Connecticut today. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports her tour began at UTC Power in South Windsor.

Nancy Sutley chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She and Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman and Environmental Commissioner Dan Esty took a ride on a fuel-cell powered bus, got a look at UTC Power’s manufacturing facility and saw fuel cells up close.

“Over here we have the PEM fuel cell that powers the bus.”

UTC  Power Vice President Mike Brown showed Sutley an updated fuel cell for buses, that he says could compete with diesel-fueled buses.

"This provides 120 kilowatts of power to drive that bus, plus a  load of passengers around. And it runs on pure hydrogen.”

“And how long will it run?,” Sutley asked.

“This will run 9800 hours,” said Brown. “Nobody can touch us on durability on any of our fuel cells.  Nobody else in the world can do what we can do.”

After the tour Sutley addressed some of the 450 employees from UTC Power. She said clean energy is creating jobs, good jobs.

“You are creating the future here. A clean energy future for the U.S., a clean energy future for the world. The President has said we have to out-innovate and out-educate  and out-compete with the rest of the world and it’s great to see this going on right here in Connecticut.”

Sutley also visited Keney Park in Hartford. Earlier this year the park received a $96,000 federal grant to improve hiking trails.

For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen