Alliance Summit Affirms Bipartisan Support for Energy Efficiency Innovation
Check out Summit photos, videos, presentations and speaker bios on our Summit event page.
Washington, D.C., Oct. 4, 2011 - The nation’s top energy experts, executives and policy makers gathered for the Alliance to Save Energy’s annual Summit on Capitol Hill Tuesday. The day-long Summit’s theme, “Driving Energy Efficiency as the Next Big Thing,” was alluded to often as panels discussed regulation, investment and finance, as well as the need for political unity, in order to drive energy efficiency forward in the United States and around the world.
Bipartisanship at Issue in Challenging Political Climate
Most speeches and remarks highlighted the traditionally bipartisan nature of energy efficiency. Recalling the late Alliance co-founder and U.S. senator, Charles H. Percy, and his legacy of political moderation, National Grid President Tom King stated the case bluntly: “Energy efficiency initiatives must take into account economic and political realities [but] working together will deliver the next big thing.” Throughout the day, participants acknowledged that the recession and adversarial politics have created unique problems – and that energy efficiency is key to the solution.
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) echoed this sentiment, stating repeatedly that energy efficiency is a common-sense issue. Describing his exasperation with inefficient building codes, Rep. Bilbray criticized regulations that can’t keep up with ever-changing technologies: “Government needs to start thinking outside the box with regulations, and not stand in the way of innovation.” The congressman acknowledged that both parties have failed to find middle ground on many aspects of energy policy.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) sounded a similar note in his keynote address. Remarking that working toward a comprehensive energy policy brought to mind the myth of Tantalus, Coons noted that energy efficiency can be a winning strategy if Washington can move past partisanship: “In my view, energy efficiency is all about America’s future. And we need to recapture that solid bipartisan sense of its role in our future.” For Coons, energy efficiency is “something that in my view fundamentally makes sense.”
Energy Efficiency Drives Organizational Innovation
Conference panels also discussed the role of energy efficiency across different types of organizations. A panel of experts led by Monica Frassoni, president of the European Alliance to Save Energy, said government support is crucial to widespread investment in energy efficiency. Panelist Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, made the Navy’s commitment clear: “Energy efficiency is our top strategy.”
Neil McPhail, senior vice president of Best Buy, presented a two-tiered commitment to energy efficiency. Noting that his organization is often the forefront of consumer education in energy efficiency McPhail said, “Adoption is all about education. If consumers don't know about the opportunities, there is no value proposition.” He then unveiled Best Buy’s new plan to roll out energy efficiency centers in three of its stores in Chicago, Houston and San Francisco; the program will help customers implement a variety of efficiency solutions and includes offering home energy audits to shoppers. McPhail summarized his belief in the confluence of business and energy efficiency innovation: “Where ideas and passion come together, there is an opportunity for leadership and entrepreneurship to step forward with new business models and new solutions that can help accelerate the opportunities around energy efficiency.”
Next Steps for the Public and Private Sectors
Panelists sounded both hopeful and wary as they recounted their experiences of driving energy efficiency innovation in the face of political and financial obstacles. King was unequivocal: “We don’t have our policy makers moving energy policy forward.” Citigroup Director Alfred Griffin spoke to private-sector challenges: “There is a lot of work to be done to convince anyone that allocating capital to energy efficiency will pay off.”
Daniel Yergin was clear in his belief that energy efficiency still has a vital and necessary role to play in public and private life: “The world is experiencing massive growth. It is not like the low-hanging fruit is gone, but we keep on creating more low-hanging fruit. While the Alliance was important in the past, it will be much more important in the future.”
Photos, Videos, Presentations and More
The Alliance would like to thank our Summit sponsors, Johns Manville and Schneider Electric, for making the event possible. For a full list of panelists and speakers, as well as photos, videos and presentations, visit our Driving Energy Efficiency as the 'Next Big Thing' event page.
