EarthxEnergy Assembles International Politicians and Energy Leaders

EarthxEnergy hosted a high profile banquet and conference at this year’s EarthX that gathered international politicians and lead industry voices to discuss the latest in global energy technology and policy. From the next generation of power markets and carbon capture in the oil patch to nuclear and hydrogen energy, compelling conversations at EarthxEnergy events ran the gamut of key energy topics.

Rick Perry, the United States Secretary of Energy, delivered a keynote address on the future of U.S. energy at the Theodore Roosevelt Banquet, which also included a panel discussion on future energy policy with Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); and Susan Eisenhower, CEO and Chairman of The Eisenhower Group, Inc.

“We kicked off EarthxEnergy with Secretary Perry discussing how we can transcend divisions to close the global energy gap, working to make our energy even cleaner and harnessing both nuclear power and renewable sources,” said Tony Keane, chief executive officer of EarthX. “The panel that followed featured a compelling discussion among Senators Graham and Whitehouse, as well as Susan Eisenhower, in which they all agreed that climate change is real, and that it falls to government working together with the private sector to establish and drive the economic benefits.”

Following the Roosevelt Banquet, the EarthxEnergy conference convened at Fair Park. Mark Victor Hansen, founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul, delivered a breakfast keynote address on “10 Trends to the Future” followed by remarks from Crystal Dwyer Hansen, President of Metamorphosis Energy, with questions from Judge Ken Starr. The EarthxEnergy conference then began with opening remarks from Senator Graham. This was followed by a conversation about international energy security with Kenneth A. Hersh, President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Co-Founder and Advisory Partner of NGP Energy Capital Management; and William J. Parker, III, CEO, National Defense University Foundation.

A keynote on the role of oil and gas in the Texas new energy economy was offered by Mark Houser, chief executive officer of University Lands, followed by a panel on low emissions natural gas involving Dr. David T. Allen, Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, UT Austin; Ned Harvey, Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Institute Zero Methane Emissions; Dan Powers, Executive Director, CO Labs; and Edward Saltzberg, Managing Director, Security and Sustainability Forum. Another panel on hydrogen as the next LNG featured Chip Comins, Chairman-CEO, American Renewable Energy Institute; David Edwards, Government Affairs, AirLiquide; Brian Goldstein, Executive Director, Energy Independence Now; and David Raney, General Manager, Corporate Strategy, Toyota Motors North America.

The EarthxEnergy luncheon featured Pete Sessions, former U.S. representative and Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Dr. William J. Parker, III, in a conversation about how AI and big data can solve environmental problems with Judge Ken Starr, and Amir Ansari, founder and CEO of Vaticx and member of the Board of Directors for XPRIZE.

Bill Magness, CEO, ERCOT delivered a keynote on electricity delivery and grid sustainability, while the fuels of the future and the new carbon economy were addressed on a panel by William Brandt, Director of Strategic Integration, LightWorks, Arizona State University; Neville Fernandes, GM and President, Neste US, Inc.; and Gerard J. Ostheimer, Ph.D, Senior Advisor, below50, World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Another panel discussed carbon capture technologies and innovations with Marcius Extavour, Ph.D, Senior Director, Energy and Resources, XPRIZE; Tim Kruger, CTO of Origen Power, University of Oxford Geoengineering Program; and Victor Liu, President, Hunt Energy Enterprises. Clean capital acceleration strategies for energy innovation, entrepreneurship, and large-scale deployment incorporated the perspectives of Jeremy Harrell, Managing Director, Clearpath; Michael Mehling, Deputy Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, MIT; and Rod Richardson, President, The Grace Richardson Fund.

Energy choice and grid liberation were examined on a panel featuring Robert Dillon, Energy Choice Coalition; James Dozier, President of the Board, Consumers for Responsible Energy Solutions; Lucy Mason, Executive Director, Arizona Solar Energy Industries; and Eric Powell, AlixPartners. Following this panel, Marc Campbell, Manager, Sustainability Projects and Programs, Salt River Project; George Favaloro, Executive Director, Anthesis; Bruce Thompson, Director, LendLease Energy Development; and Emily Williams, Senior Director of Energy Markets, Edison Energy discussed greening the corporate energy supply. The final panel addressed next generation nuclear with Susan Eisenhower and Bob Perciasepe, CEO, C2ES; and Rodney Baltzer, COO, Deep Isolation.

The conference’s final conversation addressed US-Mexico energy successes and opportunities with Jack Kahan, Grupo Kahan. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wrapped the event with his closing remarks.

Earthx2019 drew more than 175,000 attendees during three days of exhibitions, a film festival, music, entertainment, learning experiences, discussions, forums, and conferences. After Earthx2019, EarthX announced that during the event an agreement with the Independent State of Samoa was signed to transition the island nation to clean and resilient energy generation. Additionally, three early stage start-ups focused on cleantech were awarded a collective $300,000 at the EarthX E-Capital Summit, tripling the initial award offering of $100,000.

ABOUT EarthX

EarthX convenes the world’s largest environmental expo, conference and film festival. Founded in 2011 as Earth Day Dallas by environmentalist and businessman Trammell S. Crow, the Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promotes environmental awareness and impact through conscious business, nonpartisan collaboration and community-driven sustainable solutions. In 2019, the event drew over 175,000 attendees, 2,000 environmental leaders, exhibitors and 400 speakers. Earthx2020 will be held April 24 – 26, 2020 in Dallas. Visit www.EarthX.org. EarthX is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @earthxorg.

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