It was a hot day late last week when I ambled up to the US Capitol in Washington.
Among other things, I was there to spend some time attending the 13th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Expo + Forum.
13th? you asked, incredulous.
Well, at one point, one of the speakers asked how many House staffers were in the audience. No hands. More on that later. Then, he asked for members of the media to lift a hand. Mine was the only one to go up. Me - EnergyBiz editor-in-chief - the only media on hand to be part of a day-long celebration of entrepreneurism on the renewable energy front. Now you understand why you haven't heard about the Expo.
I will be editorializing about the event in the pages of EnergyBiz. But here is a flavor of what I heard and saw.
Scott Sklar, president of the Stella Group, cited a study that by 2030 we can cut our energy demand by one-third with existing technology and meet all our electicity needs without using coal, oil or natural gas.
Bob Rose, of the Breakthrough Technology Institute, said that Korea intends to see 2 million fuel cells in residential homes by 2030. And the fuel cell business could generate 3 million jobs in the next two decades.
Gia Schneider, CEO of Natel Energy, said that 70,000 megawatts of low-head, low-hanging hydro is ready to be captured in the USA. Good, clean, hydroelectric power.
And Sean O'Neill, president of Clean Renewable Energy Coalition, said that 100 technologies are being studied around the world that could capture the energy in waves and tides - and 40 of them are in the US.
All these folks trooped to Washington to tell members of Congress that policies and financial resources are needed to make our energy future robust.
A handful of Congressman trooped in during the noon hour to talk with the developers and visionaries. Rep. Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said the work of energy independence is vital to our national security. And the time is now. "This is a sputnik moment, folks,' said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., with some passion.
More of their colleagues should have been on hand to listen, ask questions and learn.
Maybe more media will be there late next May. America needs to know what is bubbling up in our energy fields.
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