Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato signed an executive order Thursday aimed at positioning the county as a leader in clean technology and advanced manufacturing.
Innamorato signed the Advancing Clean Technology for Neighborhood and Next Generation Opportunity and Workforce, or ACT NOW, order at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
The order establishes a new advisory group and a series of initiatives designed to strengthen the region’s economy and climate resilience by helping local firms access new markets, bolstering supply chains and creating jobs.
“Allegheny County already has the talent, the institutions, the workforces, the industrial foundation needed to compete in these industries,” Innamorato said.
The ACT NOW Strategic Action Team will recommend strategies, partnerships and investments. The team will include business leaders, labor organizations, universities, investors, utilities, philanthropies and county agencies appointed by Innamorato.
Under the order, County Manager John Fournier is directed to adopt clean energy, energy-efficiency and electrification standards for county buildings, vehicle fleets and infrastructure.
Fournier’s office will create a county clean technology vendor registry to identify local businesses for contracting opportunities and pilot projects.
In October 2025, Eos Energy Enterprises, which develops, manufactures and markets energy storage systems for commercial and industrial applications, announced a $353 million investment to relocate its headquarters from New Jersey to Pittsburgh.
The move is expected to create 735 jobs and expand technology that supports sustainable energy systems.
County officials said ACT NOW is intended to strengthen the region’s economic infrastructure and help attract and retain companies such as Eos Energy Enterprises.
Throughout Innamorato’s administration, Allegheny County has invested more than $15 million in clean technology and advanced manufacturing firms.
Julia Meisel, of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, which focuses on energy transition in Southwestern Pennsylvania, said regions across the country have successfully leveraged their industrial strengths to become leaders in emerging energy sectors.
Meisel pointed to Houston’s efforts to rebrand itself as an energy hub as an example.
In Houston, regional clean tech ecosystems have more than 100 commercial-scale and over 300 local clean tech startups. This generated more than 8,000 jobs and $4 billion in investments.
Lara Croushore, head of the climate department at SecondMuse, said she had similar conversations in New York in 2015 when the Industrial Action Plan was launched by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Croushore said long-term success will depend on whether county leaders can translate the executive order into targeted investments and programs that address specific barriers facing businesses and workers. She said clear goals and focused interventions helped New York turn policy commitments into sustained economic growth and will be just as important in Allegheny County’s effort to expand its clean technology and advanced manufacturing sectors.