<img src=”http://www.energyconversation.org/sites/all/themes/energyco/images/ec_uncle_sam_t.gif” align=”left” /> This coming Monday evening, 13 July, The Energy Conversation will have a public session focused on geothermal energy, appropriately titled “Is American warming up to geothermal energy?“. This US government sponsored lecture is a free event (okay, $10 for dinner) that occurs on a regular basis at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC, bringing together 100s of people from government, industry, think tank, non-profit, and citizens interested in energy and environmental issues.
Featured speakers
- Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) (“Energy Smart Jeff“)
- FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff
- Ed Wall, program manager from the Geothermal Technologies Program at Department of Energy
- Kermit Witherbee, Bureau of Land Management at Department of Interior
- Andrew Sabin, Naval Air Weapons Station Geothermal Program Office
Senator Merkley is scheduled to kick off the evening with a discussion of the legislative agenda related to jump-starting a clean energy economy to create sustainable jobs. See here for a discussion of a recent Merkley speech on energy issues. The Senator is almost certainly going to mention the geothermal program at the Oregon Institute for Technology which will lead into the panel discussion:
Rapid expansion and utilization of renewable energy technologies are at the core of the administration’s priorities and a critical “game changer” for renewables will be the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). ARRA committed $400 million for geothermal technologies, dwarfing previous government commitments. Geothermal energy is baseload and renewable, with a small footprint and an enormous resource potential. Increased funding, political support, and rising concerns regarding climate change have created the perfect storm for exponentially deploying geothermal energy. Is the time finally right?
This should be an interesting session to join if you are in the DC area 13 July and available online, afterwards, at The Energy Conversation.