Three state governors headline 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium 2017
Contact for reporters:
Anne Manning
(970) 491-7099
anne.manning@colostate.edu
Note to reporters: Those interested in attending all or part of the symposium should register. All sessions will be live-streamed. To access the live stream, please also register.
The governors of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, along with more than 50 experts in academia, government and industry, will take the stage at the 21st Century Energy Transition Symposium, Oct. 30-31. All sessions will be in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom at Colorado State University.
For the seventh straight year, speakers from multiple disciplines will gather at CSU to discuss today’s energy challenges, including issues in the natural gas industry. The symposium is jointly organized by the Center for the New Energy Economy, the Energy Institute, and the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.
“As in past years, CSU strives to host a balanced event that welcomes diverse thought leaders,” said Maury Dobbie, assistant director of the Center for the New Energy Economy and the symposium’s chief organizer. “That is, and always will be, our mission.”
Governors’ lunch panel
Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, and Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming will give the keynote lunch panel, Oct. 31, 12:30-1:30 p.m. The panel will be moderated by Bill Ritter, former Colorado governor and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at CSU.
The state leaders will discuss how they can inspire nonpartisan collaborations and regional cooperation in a complex world of energy innovations, demands and challenges.
Day 1 keynote
The keynote speaker for Day 1 of the symposium, Oct. 30, will be Amory Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute. That session will take place from 6-7 p.m. Oct. 30, and will also be moderated by Ritter.
Additional highlights
Oct. 30
Women in Clean Energy lunch panel, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
A panel of women executives will share stories and observations from their careers. The moderator will be Bobi Garrett of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Participants will include Amy Halloran of Sandia National Laboratories; Laura Nelson of the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development; and Cathy Woollums of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Men and women in all energy-related fields are encouraged to attend.
Oct. 31
The Grand Challenges Facing our Country: Solutions and Innovations, 10:30-11:50 a.m.
The session will provide examples of how eight research scientists, including several from CSU, are solving energy challenges. The moderator will be Bryan Willson, director of the CSU Energy institute, and will include Chuck Henry, chair of the Department of Chemistry in the College of Natural Sciences, and Tom Bradley, associate professor of mechanical and systems engineering in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering.
Other topics to be covered during the two-day event:
- Decarbonizing fossil fuels
- Clean energy leadership by cities, states and corporations
- Effective cybersecurity and energy security
- Behavior and human dimensions of energy transition
- Repowering the Western economy
Agenda, registration
View a detailed agenda for more information.
The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
All sessions will be live-streamed, which also requires registration.