Attendees Proclaim Making Energy Work Conference a Success

The 2012 NCSEA annual Making Energy Work Conference was a tremendous success based on feedback from many of the 450 plus attendees!  Clean energy supporters gathered in Charlotte on October 10 and 11 for NCSEA's Leadership Workshop, Annual Membership Meeting, Networking Reception and day-long Conference. 

A pre-event held by Centralina Council of Governments on Wednesday morning was a Ford EV Ride and Drive.

The event opened with a Leadership Conference.  Dale Collie of Courage Builders International delivered the opening keynote.  To review Dale’s presentation click here.   Jacqueline Patterson, founder and principal of Sheercom LLC delivered an inspiring message on innovative leadership.   The workshop was followed up with a CEO Executive Panel on Leadership Perseverance.   The panel which was moderated by Coastal Federal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell, included Maria Kingery of Southern Energy Management, Kathy Miller of Yes! Solar Solutions, Erik Lensch of Argand Energy Group and Shannon Smith of Abundant Power Group.

UNC Charlotte participants in the 2013 Solar Decathlon demonstrated their project “The Urban Eden House”.

After the workshop, NCSEA held its annual membership meeting.  Members voted for NCSEA to become a state chapter of the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), which is a new national organization.  The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) becoming a chapter of AEE reflects a commitment to help local member businesses connect, collaborate, grow and advocate for a better business climate for advanced energy companies at the state and national level.  To view Executive Director Ivan Urlaub’s presentation during the Membership Meeting, click here.

NCSEA also held its election of new Board of Directors at the annual meeting.  Elected to the Board, with their three-year term beginning in January:  Scott Dorney (NC Military Business Center, Fayetteville, NC); Randall Johnson (NC Biotechnology Center, Wilmington, NC); Tamica Shipman (General Electric, Tampa, FL); Shannon Smith (Abundant Power, Charlotte, NC); and Maggie Ullman (City of Asheville, Asheville, NC).

Prior to adjourning Day One of the event, NC Representative Ruth Samuelson spoke at the Networking Reception held at the Mint Museum.  Representative Samuelson spoke on the challenges facing the clean energy sector in the upcoming legislative session.  She encouraged NCSEA’s members to become more involved and engaged with the NC General Assembly, including developing stronger relationships and sharing their success stories with their local legislators.  Scott Tew, Ingersoll Rand’s Executive Director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, spoke on behalf of the Diamond Sponsor of the reception.

The Making Energy Work Conference opened on October 11 at the Charlotte Convention Center with a keynote address from Ron Binz, Senior Policy Advisor of the Center for the New Energy Economy, who discussed Strategies in Reaching Our Sustainable Energy Goal.  To view Mr. Binz’s presentation, please click here.  This was followed by a lively panel discussion, Opportunities and Challenges Utilities Face Integrating Clean Energy into their Generation Portfolios.  The panelists were Janice Hagar of Duke Energy, Rick Feathers of the North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperation, and Dr. Mietek Glinkowski, P.E. of ABB Inc.

The day continued with breakout sessions with panels of the industry’s leading experts and elected officials.  The lunch opened with Randy Royther from Corporate Sponsor Certus Bank and Steve Levitas from Corporate Sponsor Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton speaking of their work and supporting the value NCSEA brings to organizations.  Lunchtime included the announcement of NCSEA’s 2012 Clean Energy Award Winners:

• Award for Business innovation
  Google, Loyd Ray Farms, Duke University and Duke Energy of the Carolinas

• Individual Leadership Award
  Vincent Davis of Duke Energy
   
• 2012 Business Leadership Award
  Strata Solar, accepted by founder and CEO Markus Wilhelm
   
• Community Leadership Award
  The City of Asheville
   
• Legislator of the Year – NC Senate
  Senator Neal Hunt
   
• Legislator of the Year Award – NC House of Representatives
  Representative Tom Murry
   
• Lifetime Achievement Award
  Judy Kincaid of Clean Energy Durham

The audience remained captivated as Michel Di Capua of Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance spoke on  Global Trends in Clean Energy Investment.   Mr. Di Capua went over 89 slides in 45 minutes and managed to keep the audience engaged, interested and informed.  This presentation is copyrighted, but Bloomberg will be sending an abbreviated presentation.  Once we receive it, NCSEA will share it here.

After the breakouts, the event ended with its final keynote, Annabelle Lee from the Electric Power Research Institute (ERPI) speaking on Bringing Cyber Security to the Grid.  To view Annabelle Lee’s presentation, click here.   This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Scott Carlberg of E4 of the Carolinas and panelists Annabelle Lee, Coby Jones, Fort Bragg’s Energy Program Manager, Robert Humphrey of Duke Energy, Ed Beroset of Elster Solutions LLC and Dr. Johan Enslin of UNC Charlotte’s EPIC.

Many of the attendees attended the USGBC’s Charlotte Chapter’s Green Gala and Sustainable  Business Awards held at The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte.  The Duke Energy Building was lit green in honor of Mayor Foxx’s proclamation of October 7-14 as Sustainability Week in Charlotte, which included Centralina Council of Government's EV Ride and Drive, the NCSEA Making Energy Work Conference, and the USGBC Green Gaia.

NCSEA thanks all its sponsors, supporters and exhibitors.