Name Signifies Broader Regional Focus in Support of Energy, Power & Control Sector
MILWAUKEE – (July 24, 2013) – Not quite four years after it was formed to nurture private sector and academic collaboration to support southeastern Wisconsin’s energy, power and control industry cluster, the Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium has renamed itself the Mid-West Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC). The name reflects an expanded geographic focus to eight Midwestern states – Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.
“Commerce doesn’t stop at the state line,” said Alan S. Perlstein, executive director and chief executive officer of M-WERC. “While Wisconsin has a large industrial base of energy, power and control (EP&C) companies, we are clearly part of a much larger Midwest EP&C ecosystem which has the potential to lead the industry”.
The organization unveiled its new name today at a membership meeting held at the M-WERC offices on the top floor of the former Eaton building, 4201 N. 27th St. in Milwaukee. The organization moved into the space in January. The organization plans to establish an EP&C accelerator, the Energy Innovation Center, in the building this year.
Perlstein noted that the decision to broaden its focus to the Midwest region grew out of a strategic planning process the group’s board undertook in fiscal 2012 with the help of a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. A 2011 report by the Brookings Institution, “Sizing the Clean Economy, A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment,” played a role in the planning process, Perlstein said. The report examined the job growth potential of the green or clean economic sector, including energy efficiency and renewable energy. Wisconsin ranked 13th in clean economy jobs, with 76,858 (California was first with 318,156 jobs). However, Perlstein said the report showed that if Wisconsin combined with other Midwestern states, together they could lead the field, with a total of 562,000 jobs.
“For us to continue to support our members, to help deepen energy, power and control sector innovation, it makes sense to establish relationships with EP&C innovators in other Midwestern states, to share best practices and to tap into the robust finance sectors and foreign trade missions that exist in nearby cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis,” Perlstein said.
Over the past fiscal year (July 2012 through June 2013), the organization has more than doubled its membership, to 57 from 26 last year. About 15 percent of M-WERC’s members are located outside Wisconsin, including a number who are based in Chicago, he said. As WERC, the group hosted its March member meeting at S&C Electric in greater Chicago, which drew nearly 100 of people. Kelly O’Brien, senior vice president for economic development at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the leader of the Alliance for Regional Development, applauded M-WERC’s regional focus.
“The prospects for successful economic development within each Midwestern state is enhanced by the overall economic vitality of the region,” O’Brien said. “The more we can learn from each other and pull together knowledge and financial resources across border, the better.”
One strength M-WERC offers to potential out-of-state partners is that no other EP&C organization in the Midwest is as fully integrated, Perlstein said. M-WERC is simultaneously pursuing research/technology innovation, market and industry expansion, workforce development and public policy/strategic cooperation. Lee Swindall, vice president of business and industry development for WEDC, said that its comprehensive value proposition was one reason the agency provided support to M-WERC.
“It is industry driven but also embraces academic research and strategic cooperation between companies in the energy, power and control sector as well as public institutions,” Swindall said. ”It is uniquely positioned to focus industry, academic and public efforts through a single starting gate to power large-scale industry growth.”
In the coming year, M-WERC will refurbish a portion of its headquarters into the EP&C accelerator, the Energy Innovation Center. “We’re hoping we can bring entrepreneurs into this building and turn them into sustainable, commercially vibrant enterprises by providing the support they need,” Perlstein said
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was given a tour of the group’s offices last week, in advance of the release of the city’s Sustainability Plan. Highlights of the plan are to be presented by representatives of the city’s Sustainability Office at the M-WERC membership meeting on Wednesday. In addition Peter Asmus, principal research analyst with the energy consulting firm Navigant and an authority on international markets for energy technology, will speak at the meeting. Asmus will present his findings about export markets for distributed energy resource systems (DERS), research that was commissioned by M-WERC.
M-WERC was founded in 2009 by three universities and four industrial companies as the Southeast Wisconsin Energy Technology Research Consortium with the mission of conducting collaborative and transformative energy-related seed research. Today M-WERC is dedicated to making the Midwest region the leader in energy, power and control. It has five core mission areas: technology innovation; market and industry expansion; public policy support; workforce development; and organization development and strategic collaboration. It encompasses the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri. For more information visit m-werc.org.
Media contact: Tina Daniell, 414-292-0231, tdaniell@n-s.com
