Google Hangout: The Role of Energy Policy in the U.S.

At Rocky Mountain Institute, we focus on market-based solutions to major energy problems. For example, we believe the U.S. can get off oil and coal by 2050, largely through solutions that unlock economic value that drives such a transformation.

But market-based strategies are just one piece of a very large and complex puzzle. Other organizations focus on grassroots advocacy, litigation, regulation and enforcement, and myriad other approaches, all driving toward an energy future that is clean, secure, prosperous, and largely renewable.

A critical component of that transition has been and remains energy policy. It’s nearly impossible to work in the energy space without coming up against policy issues, whether fossil fuel subsidies, the wind production tax credit, renewable portfolio standards, or a long list of other policy-related issues.

A decade ago, an article in Foreign Affairs declared: “It is time for an ambitious new approach to U.S. strategic energy policy, one that deals with the problems of oil dependence, climate change, and the developing world’s lack of access to energy.” That call to action remains as true today as when its authors first penned the article in 2003.

And though RMI focuses primarily on market-based approaches, our former staff often go on to work on some of the toughest energy problems via policy. Three of those RMI alumni will join electricity practice principal Lena Hansen for a discussion about the role of energy policy in the United States.

Join us on Wednesday, April 17 at 11:00 a.m. MDT for a Google Hangout.

You’ll learn:

• The role of energy policy at the local, state, and federal levels
• How policy differs across the energy economy’s sectors
• Policy mechanisms that accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency and renewables

During the Hangout, you’ll hear from:

• Carla Frisch, Director of Analysis at the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and former RMI Intern
• Natalie Mims, Energy Efficiency Director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and former RMI Senior Consultant
• John Waters, President at Waters & Associates and former Vice President at RMI
• Jon Creyts, Program Director at RMI

Watch and Participate

To watch the discussion live, simply bookmark this page. We’ll be streaming the conversation here starting at 11:00 a.m. MST on April 17. We’ll also be taking questions from our audience via Twitter and email. Send your questions to @RockyMtnInst and use the hashtag #energypolicy