Moving Our Clean Energy Future Forward.
In the heart of Washington’s Mid-Columbia region, the Tri-Cities continues to thrive — driven by a strong legacy of innovation. From the Manhattan Project to today’s deployment of cutting-edge technologies, our community has played a pivotal role in addressing some of the world’s most complex challenges.
Energy Forward Alliance was created to seize this unique moment.
Founded by executives and leaders from the region’s largest community organizations and businesses, EFA exists to ensure the Tri-Cities remains at the forefront of advanced, reliable, and sustainable clean energy development.
The Vision
A future in which the Tri-Cities secures a reliable and abundant supply of clean power, stands as a global leader in the deployment of innovative energy solutions, and inspires other regions across the state, nation, and world to adopt a sustainable energy community model.
The Mission
The Energy Forward Alliance drives advanced energy innovation and partnerships in the Tri-Cities, Washington region, leveraging existing capabilities and developing new solutions to build a reliable and sustainable clean energy future.
A Defining Opportunity.
As our region continues its leadership on national and global stages, we are now tackling one of the most significant challenges — and opportunities — of this era: building a reliable and abundant clean energy future.
With deep expertise in research and development, a highly skilled workforce, established energy infrastructure, and a demonstrated track record of innovation, the Tri-Cities is uniquely positioned for transformative solutions to thrive.
EFA was formed to align that capability with intentional, coordinated action.
"We are now tackling one of the most significant challenges — and opportunities — of this era: building a reliable and sustainable clean energy future.”
– Sean V. O’Brien
Executive Director, Energy Forward Alliance
Built on Collaboration & Partnership.
Strategic collaboration is a driving tenet of our work.
Energy Forward Alliance builds bridges between local municipalities, industry leaders, academic institutions, policymakers, and community partners to advance integrated clean energy strategies. We believe that when innovation, infrastructure, and economic development are aligned, communities prosper.
Our work is grounded in the belief that regional success — advancing decarbonized energy solutions while growing the local economy — can serve as a model for others across the state, nation, and world.
A Message from Our Board of Directors
As business leaders and community executives, we formed the Energy Forward Alliance to seize this unique moment to continue expanding our region's incredible history of leadership. We see both the challenge and the opportunity before us — and we know that, together, we can achieve a clean energy future.
In our first year, EFA has built upon our community's strong foundation of achievement. We helped secure a paradigm-shifting investment from the Washington State Legislature for advanced nuclear technology deployment. We played a central role in the development of what will be the largest solar and storage project in the nation at the Hanford Site — all while preserving the ability to deploy our community's long-term vision for strategic economic development and clean energy generation on adjacent lands.
EFA's vision of intentionally deploying and co-locating clean energy generation, decarbonized industrial and advanced manufacturing projects, research and development, and cutting-edge demonstrations of new technologies will reduce costs, emissions, waste streams, and energy intensity — all while diversifying our economy and adding high-wage jobs that strengthen our entire community.
Collaboration is at the heart of EFA's mission, vision, and objectives. We are actively working to bolster partnerships between entities already within our community and to strategically recruit others in order to make the greatest impact.
Energy Forward Alliance
Board of Directors
Meet Our Board of Directors.
Ron Boninger Fuse Fund & Fuse SPC
Karl Dye Tridec
John Schenberg Amentum
Sandra Haynes WSU TRi-Cities
Bob Schuetz Energy Northwest
Jaime Shimek PNNL
Trudy Slagle Lamb Weston
Meet Our Founders Emeritus.
Steve Ashby
Paula Linnen
