{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-visits-solar-regional-testing-center", "Sanders Visits Solar Regional Testing Center", "2017-10-12", "2017", "2017-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WILLISTON, Vt., Oct. 12 \u2013 U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) applauded the \u201ccutting-edge role Vermont is playing in researching, testing and deploying solar energy,\u201d during a visit to the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s solar testing site in Williston on Thursday morning.\r\nThe Vermont Regional Test Center (RTC) is one of five such facilities in the United States that give manufacturers of solar technologies the opportunity to test the performance and reliability of their products in real-world conditions. The RTCs are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and are managed by Sandia National Laboratories.\r\nSanders helped secure $3 million in 2013 from the Energy Department\u2019s SunShot Initiative to create the Vermont solar testing site specifically to study the effectiveness of different solar technologies in a cold and wet climate. The Vermont site is located on land owned by Global Foundries, who Sanders thanked for its continued commitment to the project.\r\n\u201cThis facility, in a very short time, has become the most successful RTC in the country,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cWe now have 15 installations, 24 module types, and 11 industry partners \u2013 including three Vermont companies.\u201d The three Vermont companies are AllEarth Renewables, Norwich Technologies, and NRG Systems.\r\nLaurie Burnham of Sandia National Laboratories explained that the Regional Test Center employs state-of-the-art data collection and analysis to assess the performance of different solar technologies, in different weather conditions.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nJosh Castonguay, Green Mountain Power\u2019s chief innovation executive, said the electric utility is committed to helping transform our energy system, and efforts like the RTC were critically important in that effort. \u201cThere has been a lot of momentum. This is an exciting time,\u201d he said.\u00a0\r\nSanders also said that the recent surge in solar investment is \u201ccreating good-paying jobs that our economy needs,\u201d and noted that Vermont ranks second in the nation for solar jobs per capita.\u00a0 And, he said, solar energy is saving Vermonters money. \u201cLast summer, on a particularly hot day, a new advanced solar and battery system in Rutland saved Green Mountain Power customers $200,000 in just one hour by reducing peak power demand.\u201d\r\nSanders also criticized the Trump administration, which took steps to repeal the Clean Power Plan this week, for its refusal to even acknowledge the reality of climate change.\r\n\u201cDespite what President Trump and this Administration may think, climate change is real, climate change is caused by human activity and climate change is already causing devastating problems in our country and around the world.\u00a0 Just ask the people of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Texas or Florida who have experienced enormous damage due to recent ferocious storms that were exacerbated by warmer air holding more water vapor,\u201d Sanders said.\r\n\u201cThe very good news,\u201d Sanders said, \u201cis that communities all across this country are moving toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. Total investment in renewables last year was double the investment in fossil fuels. President Trump talks about bringing back coal. It\u2019s not going to happen. This is the future.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-visits-solar-regional-testing-center"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9311117939651012, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}