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Meets with industry, Administration officials and calls for increased funding forclean energy development

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House today. "Women Leaders in Climate Change Finance" brought together political and industry leaders to discuss climate change and the challengesaround financing new forms of clean energy.

"Maine is a great example of how we can develop new technology in tidal and wind power," Pingree said. "We have a great opportunity to wean ourselves from a dependence on fossil fuels and become a world leader in clean energy technology. But access to capital is a huge problem and really threatens the development of these industries. If we don't make financing easier for some of these projects, we are going to lose out to countries like China in the race to develop these technologies."

Dozens of women leaders from companies like Goldman Sachs, Siemens and Dow Jones joined Pingree and three of her colleagues as well as a group of top Administration officials to share success stories and discuss challenges to financing projects that address climate change.

At the White House, Pingree talked about the success of the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) in Maine in developing a new form of tidal energy technology. But she said like any clean energy company, unpredictable government policy makes it challenging for ORPC to obtain funding.