The transition to a low-carbon economy will depend fundamentally on the expansion of clean energy infrastructure, such as transmission and energy storage capabilities and environmentally-efficient transportation. Yet far too often, projects that are desperately needed to ensure grid resilience and modernization are delayed for years because of cumbersome and duplicative permitting requirements. This discussion will explore regulatory barriers that project developers face in breaking ground, as well as efforts that policymakers can do about it.

Moderator: Alexander Herrgott, President, he Permitting Institute

Panelist: Jordan Stone, Vice President, Association of American Railroads

Panelist: Serge Abergel, Chief Operating Officer, Hydro-Quebec Energy Services

Panelist: Heather Zichal, CEO, American Clean Power

A global clean energy transition utilizing existing technologies like EVs and renewable electricity is an extraordinarily minerals-intensive proposition. It is expected that the extraordinary demand for minerals will put upward pressure on prices, exacerbating the costs of an energy transition that is already expected to be very expensive. This panel will explore major issues facing the domestic mining, inventing substitutes, recycling and reprocessing. These will include national security and the role of innovation in addressing our critical minerals challenges.

Moderator: Phil Rosetti, Resident Senior Fellow, Energy, R Street Institute

Panelist: Alex Fitzsimmons, Senior Director, ClearPath

Panelist: Lisa Dry, Vice President of Strategic Communications, Essential Energy Everyday, Battery Council International

Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office U.S. Department of Energy

This will explore issues facing the finance community, including ESG, climate financial regulations, and challenges to funding advanced demonstration projects and export finance. Tax incentives and the end-of-year tax package.

Moderator: Brandon Arnold,  Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union

Panelist: John Di Stasio, President, Large Public Power Council

Panelist: Susan Nickey, Chief Client Officer, Hannon Armstrong

Panelist: Bill Parsons, Vice President, Federal and State Affairs, American Clean Power Association (ACP)

Panelist: Natalie Jackson, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets & Portfolio Finance, Clearway Energy Group

From the industrial revolution to the digital revolution, American innovation has reshaped the world. Back-to-back bipartisan legislative wins over the past two years—the Energy Act of 2020 and the Infrastructure Innovation and Jobs Act—have put billions into the pipeline for clean energy research and development. Spending these investments well will be especially important for hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors. Panelists will discuss what is needed to successfully implement existing Department of Energy programs to incentivize clean energy innovation, and additional technical and policy solutions that can help reduce emissions and grow jobs. As a part of the conversation, panelists will address accounting for differentiating products from iron and steel to concrete and hydrogen and highlight prospects for a U.S. comparative advantage in cleaner industrial production.

Moderator: Abigail Regitsky, Manager, American Breakthrough Energy

Panelist: BJ Johnson, Co-founder and CEO, ClearFlame

Panelist: Petra Smeltzer, Executive Director, Heat is Power

Craig Cornelius, CEO, Clearway Energy Group

American resources play a major role in reducing global emissions. This discussion will explore how the U.S. can leverage its trade policy to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. industries while reducing global GHG emissions. It will feature insights from industries that have a lower emissions profile than their foreign counterparts, as well as insights from bipartisan experts from the research and policymaking communities.

Moderator: David Paolella, Manager, Breakthrough Energy

Panelist: Catrina Rorke, Senior Vice President, Policy and Research, Climate Leadership Council

Panelist: George David Banks, Senior Fellow, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions

Panelist: Eric Dresselhuys, CEO, ESS Tech, Inc

Panelist: Anne Bradbury, CEO, American Exploration & Production Councils

Moderator: Pasha Majdi, Senior Director, US Policy & Government Affairs, Conservation International

Panelist: Diana Movius, Senior Director, Global Forest Policy, Climate Advisors

Panelist: Lesley Jantarasami, Managing Director, Bipartisan Policy Center

Panelist: Christine Cadigan, Senior Director, American Forest Foundation