EnergyBiz Leadership Forum Debates America’s Energy Future
As the economic crisis continues to close in on the United States, in early 2009 EnergyBiz magazine hosted the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum, a live event focusing on the debate on energy’s immediate and long-term future.
Perspectives included all the major influences on energy—industry executives, policy-makers, regulators, businesses, consumers, and members of the financial community—along with thought leaders from outside the industry. The event included keynote addresses, presentations, and roundtables.
Many speakers warned that utilities may become the loathed tax collectors of a cash hungry federal bureaucracy. A number of other presenters cautioned that the public is unaware of a possible 40% to 100% increase in the cost of electricity as a result of cap and trade legislation that aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Prominent leaders spoke on a wide range of formative issues, including:
• T. Boone Pickens, founder and chairman of BP Capital Management, talked about wind corridor from Texas to Canada that could generate 200, 000 megawatts of energy, create 138,000 jobs and in the process rejuvenate rural America.
• Charles E. Phillips Jr., president of Oracle, spoke about what his company can do to help manage the avalanche of information that the energy revolution will spawn in the years ahead. “Energy is our next frontier,” said Phillips.
• Sven Thesen, an executive from Better Place, outlined how he and his compatriots will be using electric cars to end our reliance on dirty oil.
• Dan Reicher, director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org, said that if consumers are given real-time information about their energy use that they will use that knowledge to reduce energy use and the cost of their utility bills.
• John Anderson from the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ECRC) spoke about how rising energy prices could be fatal to American manufacturers who are already clinging to life.
• Susan Story, the president of Gulf Power, spoke passionately about the importance of upgrading math and science education for our future work force – our children.
• John Bates, of Nuclear Innovation North America, said that the silver lining from the recession is the fall in commodity prices, which reduces the cost in building new nuclear plants.
Visit www.energybizforum.com to view presentation videos.
Read more about Barack Obama’s Energy Plan – Watch Video
Loading ...
