The Obama administration wants to invest in green jobs to help the economy, which could boost Cowlitz PUD’s efforts to generate more renewable energy, said PUD general manager Brian Skeahan after meeting with federal officials Friday.

Skeahan was part of a statewide panel that met with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Nancy Sutley, a White House environmental quality official Friday. Other panel members included representatives from Chelan PUD, Puget Sound Energy and Avista Corp.

Skeahan said he was impressed with Chu, who has a “grandiose vision” of the future of green power. At the same time, the energy secretary understands that government can’t solve the problem alone, and the private sector must also step up, Skeahan said.

The Obama administration is “very much are committed to renewable energy, clean energy and energy conservation. They understand the role of government to make this happen,” Skeahan said.

“It is a private sector role to develop these things to see commercialization.”

Skeahan was invited to the roundtable discussion because of Cowlitz PUD’s early entry into wind-energy generation, he said. The PUD launched its White Creek wind project in Eastern Washington in 2007, and its Harvest Wind project is expected to go online at the end of this year.

“The question becomes, what next?” Skeahan said.

The PUD is exploring generating power from biomass produced from wood waste. The federal stimulus package provided $800 million for this growing technology. The utility is also looking at generating a smaller amount of energy by burning the methane gas generated by landfills.

Skeahan was named general manager at Cowlitz PUD in 2005. He has worked 21 years as a utility general manager in Washington and Nebraska.