Ritter to Kick Off Renewable Energy Summit at UW
Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, is director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.
June 7, 2016 — Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will discuss the forces behind renewable energy development Sunday, June 12, kicking off a two-day Renewable Energy Summit at the University of Wyoming.
Ritter, who founded and directs the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, will provide an overview of the present status and future of renewable energy at 7 p.m. in the Hilton Garden Inn Ballroom. His keynote address, “Powering Forward: What Everyone Should Know about America’s Energy Revolution,” is free and open to the public.
Ritter is described as one of America’s key thought leaders on renewable energy. His talk will address the future of fossil fuels, wind energy and solar power, and new ways to think about energy.
Hosted by UW’s Center for Photoconversion and Catalysis, the Wind Energy Research Center and the School of Energy Resources, the Renewable Energy Summit will cover topics ranging from science and technology development to big-picture policy and management perspectives.
An optional tour of a Wyoming wind farm will precede Ritter’s lecture on Sunday.
Other sessions of the conference will take place at UW’s Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center. For more information or to register, go online to
www.uwyo.edu/ser/conferences/upcoming-events/renewable-summit.html.
Activities Monday, June 13, will focus on wind energy. Among the scheduled speakers are Paul Veers, chief of engineering at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) National Wind Technology Center; Scott Beyer, director of transmission planning for PacifiCorp; Ryan Jacobson, director of engineering and construction for the Power Company of Wyoming; and UW professors Dimitri Mavriplis, John Pierre and Jonathan Naughton.
Solar energy will be the focus Tuesday, June 14. Scheduled speakers include Bill Tumas, associate laboratory director at NREL; Mike Woodhouse, economic analyst at NREL; and a number of academic experts, including Reuben Collins of Colorado School of Mines; Carl Koval and Sean Shaheen of the University of Colorado-Boulder; Jim Sites of Colorado State University; and Carrick Eggleston of UW.
http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2016/06/ritter-to-kick-off-renewable-energy-summit-at-uw.htmlSNIPPET from an article by Bill Ritter, Colorado’s 41st governor:Fossil fuels enjoy a variety of targeted tax benefits as well as MLPs.
Denying the same mix to renewable energy investors perpetuates federal policies that have long picked fossil fuels as the winners. The PTC/ITC and MLPs should not be an either/or issue. Both belong in an intelligent mix of tax policies that create more robust market competition on a more level playing field.
In addition, opening MLPs to renewable-energy investment is consistent with the "all of the above" energy strategy advocated both by President Obama and the Republican Party. I am confident that as various renewable energy technologies become ready for full-scale commercialization, they will compete very well.
In the absence of access to MLPs, private investors and state governments are creating other ways to capitalize emerging clean-energy technologies. Renewable-energy bonds, green-energy banks, crowdfunding and "yield cos" are among recent innovations.
Nevertheless, a great deal of private capital remains sidelined, waiting for stable and equitable federal energy policies. If we really believe in letting all market-ready energy options slug it out in robust competition, then we shouldn’t ask that federal policies fix the fight.
But that is what happens when renewable-energy investors are barred from the tax incentives that investors in fossil fuels enjoy. Bill Ritter served as Colorado’s 41st governor. He is currently the director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2014/09/30/lets-even-the-playing-field-for-renewable-energy/Negative