(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington will be awarded $5.7 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The funding will go to PNNL’s work to analyze the effects of global climate change and to further develop “smart grid” technology to improve the cost and energy effectiveness of distributing electricity. The funding will also help to support the 4,200 employees that PNNL employees in the Tri-Cities community.
“This funding will support high-tech jobs and create new economic opportunities,” said Senator Murray. “It’s not only an immediate boost for a major employer in our state, it’s also a down payment on our economic future. The funding invested today in PNNL research will drive the clean energy jobs and opportunities our state must pursue to keep our economy growing. Maintaining the research and development infrastructure at PNNL will also allow them to continue to support critical national security, homeland security, and scientific projects for our country.”
As a senior member of the Senate committee overseeing Energy funding, Sen. Murray worked to ensure that investments in energy research and technology were included in the Recovery Act. Senator Murray voted to pass the Recovery Act on February 13th. The bill was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th.
The $5.7 million in funding for PNNL will go to:
- $4.9 million – This funding will be used for integrated climate research, which blends climate modeling with modeling of human factors such as economics and choices about energy production, consumption, and use.
- $867,000 – This funding will be used
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