If you happan to be in easy reach of Kansas City tomorrow, early evening, stop by the Plaza Branch of the library for a wide-ranging discussion of The Future of Energy.

A panel of energy and recycling experts will discuss The Future of Energy and Creating a Sustainable Community. Panelists: Kate Corwin, of GreenWorks Kansas City, Kristin Riott of Bridging the Gap, Bob Housh of the Metropolitan Energy Center, Lara Isch of the KCMO Water Department, Stacia Stelk of Ripple Glass and Chuck Caisley of Kansas City Power & Light.

I will moderate a discussion after the initial presentations. Kansas City is not Boulder, erstwhile SmartCity. And it is not the Left Coast or the Atlantic Seaboard. The evening will be a great opportunity to assess the winds of change in the world of energy smack in the middle of the United States.

Stay tuned.

The Plaza Library: 4801 Main Street. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

On the national scene, I just got off the road meeting with executives of gas utilities in Boston and moderating a panel on the future of the power grid in Washington.

The gas executives are worrying about cybersecurity. But they are confident that the pipeline infrastructure around the nation is sufficiently robust to allow the shale gas revolution in America to fully flower. And watch for rapid growth in gas-powered trucks and commercial vehichles, they said.

On the power front, get ready for a surge in microgrid development, grid experts say.