Important Energy Security Conference honoring Senator Pete Domenici
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HOBBS -- Sen. Pete Domenici will be featured speaker at a national energy policy conference May 27 at the Lea County Event Center titled "The Making of Energy Policy: Where Are We Going?"
The conference is sponsored by New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County, and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. Co-sponsors are the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute.
Dr. Van Romero, vice president for research and economic development at New Mexico Tech, told the Hobbs News-Sun in an interview that the conference is a major step in bringing renewable energy to the forefront of policy discussions.
Romero said New Mexico law requires major utilities to produce 15 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020, the News-Sun reported.
Still, Romero told the newspaper, the country hasn't really looked at how policies need to change in the renewable energy environment. In the afternoon, papers will be presented, followed by commentary, a conference summary, and panel recommendations. Other presenters include: John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute. Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. David J. Modeen, director of external affairs, Nuclear Power Sector of the Electric Power Research Institute. Brenda Brooks, communications director for the National Enrichment Facility at Eunice. William Kovacs, vice president of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Robert Caudle of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. At the conclusion of the cornerstone presentations, Romero will summarize the conference and present community panel recommendations.
The New Mexico Center for Energy Policy (NMCEP) is the first community-centered response to the challenge of national energy security in the United States. Its location in Lea County reflects the New Mexico Southeast as a historic and contemporary source of energy production and technology. Energy policy-making in Washington and in state capitals is often limited to “witness” appearances from “locals”. Energy policy developed and promoted by an energy production community has been non-existent until now.
NMCEP (nim-sep) represents a diversified energy production and infrastructure community (DEPIC). The economic reality in Lea County and the region includes natural gas, oil, wind, solar, bio-fuels and nuclear energy. There is also presence of carbon dioxide that can be transformed into feedstock for fuel from capture or sequestered (stored underground). Diversified energy supply is a natural endowment: it rejects “either /or” (renewable vs. non-renewable) policy choices and mandates.
NMCEP will initiate a process for facilitating energy economic development programs. This process will also encourage local social capital towards lowering political risk for energy. One of the critical elements of investor risk assessment is community attitude towards energy technology, production and usage.
NMCEP recognizes that 80% of CO2 emissions, the primary source of greenhouse gases and projections of climate warming in the United States, result from electricity production. Carbon-neutral alternatives include nuclear energy and renewable energy. Southeast New Mexico merits consideration and site-selection for these carbon-neutral sources.
NMCEP will partner with New Mexico Tech and NMJC in the competition for industry and state / national research grants and programs. Tech offers a diversified energy technology, critical mass of research faculty to participate in energy community-energy engineering university partnerships and will coordinate with NMJC training and outreach resources.
NMCEP will establish direct private sector and government ties that will advance the potential of energy policy and development in a diversified energy production community. This will involve developing policy and positions on the energy regulatory process at all levels. The Center will address national energy security with an enabling model that other similarly endowed communities can follow. Lea County participants will become advisors and ambassadors.
Sen. Domenici, who will be presented with the first National Energy Policy Leadership Award by Romero.
For more information and to register for the conference
go to-->http://nmcep.nmt.edu/default.htm