February 2009 Archives

"We agree with the President that the time for climate change action is now. We support an economy-wide cap-and-trade approach with an aggressive CO2 reduction trajectory, consistent with an 80 percent reduction by 2050. We support auctioning, rather than allocating, 100 percent of the CO2 allowances, as the President has proposed. We also support his proposal for recycling the auction revenues back into the economy with a significant portion used to protect families, particularly of low and moderate incomes. Study after study has demonstrated that an allowance auction with revenue recycling is the most effective policy for minimizing the economic impacts of a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. We are pleased that the President's budget proposal is so specific on this very important provision.

"Finally, we support funding for significant research, design and demonstration investments as the President has proposed, particularly in those areas which have the potential for a big global payoff such as coal retrofit carbon capture and electric vehicle battery technology. CO2 reduction is a global problem, and coal plant emissions and automobiles are two very large sources of global CO2 emissions. If the United States can develop affordable technologies to reduce emissions from these sources, we will dramatically improve the odds that the developing world will join in the emission reduction effort and we will also benefit from green technologies to export into a huge global market.

"I applaud President Obama's leadership, and look forward to working with his Administration on this initiative."

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.

This patented new technology represents a totally different thermodynamic approach in power plant design. Based on high pressure oxy-fuel chemistry, TIPS combines the combustion of carbonaceous fuels, including coal, oil, natural gas, municipal waste and biomass, into energy with near-zero air emissions and no smoke stack. In addition, it effectively captures carbon dioxide ("CO2") in clean, pressurized liquid form ready for sequestration or beneficial reuse, such as enhanced oil recovery. The TIPS technology promises to achieve greater fossil-fuel power plant thermal efficiency due to its novel and patented process design. Coupled with the recovery of pipeline quality liquid CO2, TIPS is expected to have an economic and environmental edge over competing carbon capture technologies.

Babcock Power and its subsidiaries are industry leaders in the design and supply of environmental pollution controls, combustion and steam generator technology and other power plant heat exchanger products and systems. This experience will be used to design the TIPS process components and subsystems for pressurized oxy-fuel burners and combustors, heat transfer surfaces for generating superheat and reheat steam and condensing heat exchangers which will remove the products of combustion including toxic pollutants, water and CO2 as liquid streams.

"Planned TIPS industrial heat and power plants represent an ideal solution for many US infrastructure industries," said Dennis Cossey, Chairman and CEO of ThermoEnergy. "Not only will it allow them to switch to a cheaper fuel source, significantly lowering energy costs, but reduce the plants carbon footprint at the same time. The carbon credit offsets associated with greatly reducing green house gas emissions could eventually provide a substantial source of income should Congress enact some form of carbon tax in the coming months," said Cossey.

"The progression of the TIPS technology coincides well with the timeline of anticipated forthcoming CO2 legislation," stated James F. Wood, President and CEO of Babcock Power Inc. "As we evolve TIPS into a commercial scale product utilizing pilot plant results, Babcock-Thermo Carbon Capture LLC will be well positioned to compete in the multi-billion dollar CO2 capture market."

In a letter delivered this morning to House and Senate leaders and the Obama Administration, U.S. investors specifically called for adoption of the following policies: a strong national Energy Efficiency Resource Standard; a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (also called a Renewable Electricity Standard); a mandatory national climate policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide; and a low-carbon fuel standard and other transportation policies to lower use oil use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Coordinated by Ceres and its Investor Network on Climate Risk, the letter was signed by leading pension funds such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS); large asset managers including BlackRock and Deutsche Asset Management; nine state treasurers; three state/city comptrollers; two labor pension funds -- SEIU Master Trust and UNITE HERE -- as well as other investors (see full list of signers below).

The letter states that strong energy and climate action is 'essential' for long-term economic prosperity and that the costs of inaction could be 'economically debilitating.' "We are convinced that building our nation's low-carbon energy infrastructure is an important part of the solution to our current economic crisis. Delaying action on these policies will deny U.S. families and businesses access to low-cost clean power, reduce our nation's energy security, and require more stringent, costly solutions to address climate change in the future," states the letter.

"The value of aggressive, national action to fight climate change and remake our energy and transportation sectors cannot be overstated," said California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a board member of the nation's two largest public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, with approximately $300 billion in combined assets. "The benefits will extend far beyond the environment. If we succeed, we will secure long-term security and prosperity for our economy, our businesses, and our workers and families, and in the bargain save taxpayers and consumers billions and billions of dollars."

"The policies outlined in the letter would allow us to invest our clients' assets with appropriate cognizance of the continuing risks -- and exciting opportunities -- that will result from physical, regulatory and technological change spurred by a changing climate and the policy response," said Alex Popplewell, global co-head of responsible investment at BlackRock, which manages $1.3 trillion in assets. "2009 will be a year of intense investor focus on the architecture of global agreements on climate change policy. We see it as essential that the United States play a full and urgent part in both clarifying its domestic approach to this complex issue and contributing to the successful conclusion of international agreements."

"Strong national climate and energy legislation will send clear market signals to the business community -- creating new industries, putting people back to work, and helping move American companies to the forefront of global competitiveness on clean energy," said Mindy S. Lubber, President of Ceres and the Director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, an alliance of 77 investors with approximately $7 trillion in assets. "An energy efficiency resource standard is a critical component of such legislation and is equally as important as a renewable energy standard," she added.

Calling energy efficiency and conservation the "fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the bottom line of companies," the letter urges passage of a national Energy Efficiency Resource Standard that would set national energy savings targets and save utility customers up to $144 billion by 2020, according to estimates provided by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. "Energy efficiency is the cheapest form of power we can produce and it is time for national policy to step in and tell electric utility companies that they need to shift their business practices to deliver a lot more of it," states the letter.

The letter assigns high importance to sending a signal to the markets that greenhouse gas emissions will carry a price. "National climate legislation acting in harmony with the market will facilitate greater investment in clean technologies and other climate change solutions and will enable the U.S. to not only compete globally, but to lead," it states.

To facilitate rapid deployment of existing and emerging technologies, the letter urges Congress to enact a strong national renewable portfolio standard (also referred to as a renewable electricity standard), a policy already in place in 29 states.

Stressing the need to extend clean energy policies to the transportation sector, the letter urges legislators to: adopt a national low-carbon fuel standard, support expansion of public transit and legislation to promote the reduction of vehicle miles traveled, adopt performance-based incentives to stimulate the development of new technologies and adopt maximum feasible fuel economy standards.  SOURCE Ceres, Boston, MA and INCR, Boston, MA

The study was conducted by Dr. Steffen Mueller from the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago utilizing a modern ethanol plant in Rochelle, Illinois, (approximately 75 miles northwest of Chicago) as its test subject. The study looked at relevant farming data - including satellite imagery and farmer surveys - one year prior to the plant opening through to two years after.

"Our objective was to take a bottom-up approach to data collection and analysis, and thereby arrive at a fully considered assessment on the potential impact of ethanol production on farmland use," commented Dr. Mueller. "We examined each acre of farmland within a 40 mile radius of the test site - prior to and after the launch of an ethanol plant - and found that neither intensification nor extensification occurred. Farmers had land available to convert (extensification) for corn production and did not. And, ethanol plant grain demand was quickly met by incremental production improvements and so increased percentages of corn acres (intensification) cannot be explained by the new ethanol plant. The results of this study on one modern ethanol plant are sufficiently dramatic to indicate that the science of ethanol and land use is far from being set."

The study's findings are in conflict with the current federal and state governmental draft standards that utilize older and less thorough science. "With California a recognized national leader in renewable fuel policy, the risk that state's draft renewable fuel standards being prematurely approved is that ethanol will be branded a brown fuel nationally," stated Rod Weinzierl. "This threatens to marginalize the use of ethanol in the U.S. fuel mix and would have far reaching, non beneficial environmental and financial impact. California will be worsening, not improving, our nation's carbon footprint at a time when we have the green fuel supply to do otherwise."

The study found that a new ethanol plant requiring 20.45 million bushels of corn annually for fuel production utilizes the yield from 104,284 acres, which is less than 7% of the acres from the "draw area." However, during the study period, more than 260,000 acres were converted from mostly soybeans to corn indicating that other factors contributed to corn intensification (an increase in percentage of corn acres grown).

"During the early phase of plant startup it's possible that corn acres are intensified as a result of perceived plant market demand," Dave Loos, Technical Director of ICGA, noted. "This quickly levels off and other factors such as export demand and grain economics drive on farm planting decisions. Once an ethanol plant has been in operation for two years, its supply requirements are a marginal factor in local farmers' planting strategy. Annual production increases quickly exceeded the total new demand from the plant."

The study found that while land such as grass and pasture was available for farmers within the ethanol plant draw area to convert to and increase planted corn acres by as much as 21%, less than three tenths of a percent increase actually took place, which is not a meaningful amount.

"As we continue to improve the agricultural productivity and processing efficiencies of corn-based ethanol, it is important that the body of scientific work developing around corn's role as a part of our national renewable fuels strategy keep pace with these advancements," added Dr. Martha Schlicher, vice president of Illinois River Energy. "This study is an accurate reflection of the ability of the advancements in corn productivity to absorb incremental ethanol capacity when plants are appropriately added in the right locations at the right time. While it is very important to clearly understand all of the direct and indirect environmental costs and benefits of renewable fuel use, it is equally critical that we accurately account for current and future technological advancements that reaffirm the environmental benefits of corn ethanol. It is unfortunate that we continue to increase gasoline imports while idling existing available corn based ethanol supply that measures in the billions of gallons."

The study - The Land Use Impact Of A New Ethanol Plant, February 2009 - was prepared for the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and can be accessed in full at: (http://www.ilcorn.org)

SOURCE Illinois Corn Growers Association

The forum discussed policies and strategies to build a clean energy smart grid and expand the use of domestic alternative fuels. Below are the Speaker's remarks as prepared:

"I would like to thank the Center for American Progress Action Fund for hosting the National Clean Energy Project Roundtable and to thank the chair of this event and one of America's boldest leaders in creating a clean energy future, my friend Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"In a time that demands bold ideas, this forum brings together some of the most innovative and visionary thinkers in our nation. I come here to thank you for your efforts to tackle the greatest challenges of our time.

"America was founded upon the tradition of bold thinkers ensuring opportunity for future generations. More than 200 years ago, Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, submitted a plan to Congress to develop America's infrastructure.

"As Secretary Gallatin said at the time, his vision of roads and canals to unite our young nation could not 'be left to individual exertion.' He understood that public capital was needed for the public good.

"And because of his vision, America grew: the Erie Canal, the transcontinental railway, and the national road all are products of Gallatin's plan.

"It is in the tradition of Albert Gallatin that a century later, in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt launched a similar commitment by convening a White House Conference on Conservation to preserve America's natural beauty. That led to the creation of the National Park Service and helped a growing America remain a green America.

"Today again, we stand at a crossroads, with an opportunity to reinvest in America for the next generations.

"This issue is the flagship issue of my Speakership, and when Democrats took control of Congress two years ago, I formed the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Ed Markey.

"I am also proud that Congress passed comprehensive energy legislation, signed into law in December 2007, which for the first time in almost 30 years increased fuel efficiency standards.

"We are also hopeful that this year we will be able to pass a renewable electricity standard - President Obama is proposing 25 percent by 2025. We can build a superconducting smart grid that will allow wind or solar power to travel from America's plains or deserts or even rooftops to our cars.

"Last week, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create and save 3.5 million jobs with new investments in health, education, science, infrastructure, and in clean, efficient American energy.

"The recovery package will also help bring our country's electrical infrastructure into the 21st century. With these investments, we will begin updating our aging transmission networks to make the power grid smarter and greener.

"Mr. Markey and I were just at an energy conference in Italy and modernization of the grid was of the highest interest to the participants. We cannot move to a clean energy economy that relies on renewable and energy efficiency without deeper investments in transmission systems.

"Many states have already begun to adopt innovative policies to move toward more clean, efficient transmission systems. But what we need is a national framework for planning, developing, and financing transmission infrastructure.

"As you may know, the recovery package requires the Department of Energy to do a study on the transmission issues facing renewable energy, which should help guide Congress.

"We have an opportunity to shape this framework as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman works with his colleagues on legislation to address global warming and promote energy independence.

"We must change the energy marketplace so we can save our country and our planet. We began with the 2007 energy bill, we continued it in the stimulus package, and now we must complete the work. It is a moral, environmental and health, economic, and national security issue.

"You have assembled a distinguished panel of experts to deal with complicated issues surrounding how we connect, transmit, distribute and use the power that provides the engine for our economy.

"I look forward to hearing about the best thinking that comes from your discussions. Together, we can ensure the next generation of innovation, discovery, and growth for America."

"State-owned oil companies are a pivot-point in this crisis," said Karin Lissakers, director of Revenue Watch Institute. "They are realizing that transparency in revenue management and reporting has become an economic necessity."

At a meeting hosted by Revenue Watch during this week's global conference of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Qatar, companies voiced anxiety about losing revenue in the downturn and setting aside regulatory reforms that could lead to long-term fiscal and national growth.

"Without sound corporate governance and disclosure policies, companies will lose the trust of the investors and lending institutions they need to operate successfully," said Lissakers. "Open reporting practices can safeguard future windfalls against the volatility that is wreaking havoc today."

With more than two dozen countries now in the EITI, and Azerbaijan named as the first compliant country, Revenue Watch is urging resource-rich nations to use the momentum of the transparency movement to secure their prospects for long-term growth.

The Revenue Watch meeting on Monday brought national oil companies from countries including Azerbaijan, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Norway together with experts from the World Bank and Stanford University, and international business leaders including EITI Chairman Peter Eigen, George Soros of the Open Society Institute, and Karina Litvack of F&C Asset Management.

George Soros warned producing countries against energy deals that favor quick profit over sound practice. Speaking to the full EITI conference on Tuesday, Soros said "The commodity downturn is likely to be temporary, but the deals bind you for decades. Don't give away the store for short-term gains. Better to leave a valuable asset in the ground than accept terms that will yield your country little revenue or other benefits over the long term."

Revenue Watch offered its warm congratulations to the Republic of Azerbaijan for being named the first EITI compliant country, and welcomed the United Republic of Tanzania as the latest confirmed candidate country.

The attendance of Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani at the EITI conference also underscored the importance of adding a major Middle East oil producer to the initiative. Revenue Watch expressed its continued enthusiasm about the progress of Iraq toward becoming an EITI candidate. Revenue Watch Institute is a part of the EITI governing board and was actively involved in its founding in 2002.

The Company has successfully drilled its ninth Cotton Valley discovery, the L. Moore 20-1 Well, which reached planned total depth (TD) of 9,904 feet on January 31, 2009. This well is the northwest offset to the recent Cash Pointe 30-1 discovery and confirms productivity in the southern portion of the field.

Wireline logging and mud log shows indicate the L. Moore 20-1 Well encountered 104 feet of net effective gas pay in the Cotton Valley Formation. Notably, there are key intervals in the most productive intervals of the Upper Davis with 47 net feet of pay. The Company has run and set 4 1/2 inch production casing to total depth. Completion operations commenced this week. Hydraulic fracturing in the Upper Davis was performed on February 13. The L. Moore 20-1 is Southern Star's ninth consecutive successful Cotton Valley well in the Sentell Field. The other eight wells encountered similar log characteristics; five wells are commercially producing, the sixth is awaiting pipeline construction and completion, and two wells were extended as successful Haynesville delineation tests.

Construction of an extension of the field gathering system to connect the Section 20 wells was completed on February 7, 2009. This extension will allow for immediate production from the Moore 20-1 well upon completion. Work continues on the system to extend the line down to the Cash Pointe 30-1 Well. The Company expects that work to be completed during March.

David Gibbs, Southern Star's President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The results from the L. Moore 20-1 offer further indications of the quality of the Cotton Valley play in our acreage position. Developing the Sentell Field as a Cotton Valley producer remains a viable strategy at natural gas prices above $4.50 per Mcfe. The Company's advantage lies in our dual development strategy between Cotton Valley production and the planned Haynesville Development Program, which is based on previously-announced successful Haynesville tests in two locations within our Sentell Field. We remain optimistic about the quality of our acreage position and the future of the Company and believe our strategy will prove beneficial to shareholders."

Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy's Chairman, President and CEO, said, "The result at Carmen is another positive data point for our West Africa operations where we have now drilled ten consecutive successful wells on our operated acreage. We are excited to confirm that the oil sourcing extends from Block "I", where we have two separate oil discoveries, to the north in Block "O". We are optimistic about the further prospectivity of the region, and we will be recalibrating our seismic to identify other similar opportunities. At the same time, our teams are continuing to advance the oil development scenario for first production in 2012 and Carmen looks to be a very nice tie-in candidate."

The Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy, H. E Marcelino Owono Edu, stated, "The Government of Equatorial Guinea is extremely pleased that another oil discovery has been made within the Equatorial Guinea part of the Douala Basin. The Government of Equatorial Guinea will continue to aggressively develop the discovered oil and gas resources within its territory for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea, whilst maintaining a stable and consistent investment policy."

Noble Energy is the Technical Operator of Block "O" with a 45 percent participating interest. Its partners on the block include GEPetrol, the national oil company of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with a 30 percent participating interest and Glencore Exploration Ltd. with a 25 percent participating interest.

Noble Energy is a leading independent energy company engaged in worldwide oil and gas exploration and production. The Company operates primarily in the Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, and deepwater Gulf of Mexico areas in the United States, with key international operations offshore Israel, UK and West Africa. Noble Energy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol NBL. Visit Noble Energy online at www.nobleenergyinc.com.

The Industrial Union Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), today released a study entitled "Employment and Other Economic Benefits from Advanced Coal Electric Generation with Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies (Preliminary Results)."

The study estimates the employment and economic benefits resulting from deployment of advanced coal-based electricity generation facilities (power plants) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Depending on how many CCS-equipped plants are deployed, some 5 to 7 million man-years of employment could be created during construction, and a quarter of a million permanent jobs added during operations (see table below.)

Conducted by BBC Research and Consulting, the study assumes that 20, 65 and 100 gigawatts (GW) of advanced coal-based electricity generation equipped with CCS are added to the nation's generation mix. (One gigawatt provides enough electricity to power 300,000-400,000 homes. There are slightly more than 300 gigawatts of coal-based power plants in operation today). In addition, the study estimates the benefits of HR 6258, introduced by Representative Boucher in 2008, that provides independent funding support for the early commercial demonstration of CCS technologies.

A U.S government economic model was used to calculate the resulting benefits in terms of jobs, output, value-added (GDP) and labor income associated with both the construction and operation of advanced coal-based facilities equipped with CCS.

Preliminary results of the study are summarized in the tables below:

                  Cumulative Benefits During Construction

    Benefits                100GW       65GW       20GW       Boucher
    Jobs                      6.9        4.5        1.4           0.2
    (million job years)
    Output                   $1.1       $0.7       $0.2         $0.03
    (trillions)
    Labor Income             $368       $240        $75           $12
    (billions)

                     Annual Benefits During Operations

    Benefits                 100GW      65GW        20GW      Boucher
    Jobs                       251       153          48          7.5
    (thousands)
    Output                     $58       $36         $11           $2
    (billions)
    Labor Income               $17       $10        $3.2         $0.5
    (billions)

Bob Baugh, Executive Director of the Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO, representing some 3 million union members, including the IBEW, Boilermakers and Mine Workers, observed that: "Our nation needs good jobs and new technology that will cut our carbon emissions. It is time to quit talking about advanced coal technology and begin building it."

Ed Hill, President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, stated that: "This study is a valuable contribution to the national debate on energy policy. While we support the development of wind and solar power on a large scale, the only realistic course for our nation is to minimize the carbon emissions from coal generation, which, along with nuclear, will continue to be a vital part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future."

Newton Jones, President of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers said: "Carbon capture and storage technology is essential to enabling the responsible use of our nation's strategic coal reserves -- a resource we cannot ignore if we are to make energy independence a reality. This study demonstrates that it also has the potential to create thousands of good paying jobs for boilermakers and other union building trades. We urge policymakers to keep the results of this study in mind as they move forward in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and take appropriate steps to encourage the commercialization of CCS technology."

"This study demonstrates that developing CCS technology in America is a win-win-win for all concerned," UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. "Workers and their families win, the communities where these facilities will be constructed win, and the environment wins. It's time to get started."

"The results of this study show the importance of deploying CCS technologies, not only because of their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also because of their substantial economic benefits, At the same time, we must ensure that these technologies are developed and commercialized as rapidly as possible to achieve these benefits. " said Steve Miller, president and CEO, ACCCE.

A full version of the study can be obtained at: www.americaspower.org.

Websites for additional information:

Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO: http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/manufacturing/iuc/

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers: http://www.boilermakers.org/

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: http://www.ibew.org/

United Mine Workers of America: http://www.umwa.org

American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity: http://www.cleancoalusa.org/

The US rig count for January 2009 was 1,553, down 229 from the 1,782 counted in December 2008 and down 196 from the 1,749 counted in January 2008. The Canadian rig count for January 2009 was 377, up 16 from the 361 counted in December 2008 and down 117 from the 494 counted in January 2008.

The worldwide rig count for January 2009 was 2,974, down 247 from the 3,221 counted in December 2008 and down 322 from the 3,296 counted in January 2008.

    January 2009 Rotary Rig Counts

                    January 2009            December 2008     January 2008
                  Land  OS  Total   Var.  Land  OS   Total   Land  OS  Total
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Europe        39  54    93    (8)    48   53    101     48   45    93
      Middle
       East        239  35   274    (5)   246   33    279    241   34   275
      Africa        46  12    58    (9)    51   16     67     52   16    68
      Latin
       America     305  76   381    (8)   312   77    389    291   74   365
      Asia
       Pacific     136 102   238    (4)   130  112    242    130  122   252
                  ---- ---  ----         ----  ---   ----   ----  ---  ----
    International  765 279  1044   (34)   787  291   1078    762  291  1053

      United
       States     1487  66  1553  (229)  1716   66   1782   1690   59  1749
      Canada       375   2   377    16    359    2    361    492    2   494
                  ---- ---  ----         ----  ---   ----   ----  ---  ----
    North
     America      1862  68  1930  (213)  2075   68   2143   2182   61  2243
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Worldwide     2627 347  2974  (247)  2862  359   3221   2944  352  3296

FMA Congresses is Holding a Three Day Event that Will Focus on Energy Reduction, Environmental Sustainability and Green Data Centers. The Event, 'Progressive Energy & Environment Congress 2' is Held from April 20 to 22 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia

This conference is designed to help participants learn how reducing energy consumption can lead to higher profits by decreasing operational costs and the ways in which energy certificates, greenhouse gas credits and carbon offsetting can be optimized to obtain immediate benefits.

    The congress program features:

    -- A range of concurrent sessions with in-depth presentations on key
       issues
    -- Case studies from experts detailing practical advice and successful
       strategies
    -- Highly interactive workshop sessions with Q&A peer advice
    -- Panel discussions with lively debate amongst your peers


    Speakers:

    -- Greg G. Williams, Director, SH&E Performance Assurance & Process
       Innovation Global Policy & Strategy, MeadWestvaco
    -- Douglas Kaempf, Director of Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
       Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
    -- David Hitchings, Director GreeNG, Northrop Grumman Corporation
    -- Steve Wolfe, Head of Energy Management, Adams County / Ohio Valley
       Schools
    -- Karen Heyob, Associate Chief Engineer (Environmental), Honda of America

       Manufacturing Inc.
    -- Ray Ratheal, Director, Energy Policy & Planning, Eastman Chemical
       Company
    -- John Stevens,VP, Energy Strategy and Policy, Praxair Inc.
    -- David Freedman, Director, Engineering & Construction, Georgia
       Department of Natural Resources
    -- Melissa Vernon, Director of Sustainable Strategy, InterfaceFLOR
    -- Dennis Wolcott, Corporate Energy Manager, Parker Hannifin Corporation