Happy Summer! We hope you are enjoying the warmer weather here in the NCAC region. J Energy economics has certainly heated up (pun intended); here’s a little bit of what’s going on…
If you have upcoming events, job vacancies, candidates for Featured Member, or other items that you would like to place in the NCAC newsletter, please let us know by emailing Secretary@ncac-usaee.org.
In this issue:
- · Return of the annual policy conference
- · Upcoming events: webinar (June 29) & happy hour (Sep 30)
- · Membership survey results
- · Featured member: Sreekanth Venkat
Events: We’re Back! Success at the NCAC-USAEE 2022 Annual Energy Policy Conference
After a two-year hiatus, NCAC-USAEE organized its 25th Annual Energy Policy Conference in person. George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government was the co-host for the conference. The event was held on 27th of April and was attended by nearly 90 participants from across the energy spectrum.
The theme for this year's conference was "Energy Today and Tomorrow" and the five panels discussed the current state of the energy industry, ambitions for energy tomorrow, challenges in achieving decarbonization goals, and policy and technology solutions that could lead us to a cleaner future. Clay Seigle, VP of USAEE was the keynote speaker.
Thanks to the panelists, panel moderators and NCAC members (including VP/Conference Chair Aqeel Adenwala) who attended the conference and made it a success. For members who were not able to attend the event, the video recordings for the conference are available in the "Members Only" section of our website.
Upcoming webinar: 29 June: Microgrids For Climate Justice (with Dr. Ashok Das, founder/CEO of SunMoksha)
In the Native American Nations, 14% of households have no access to electricity. The average cost to connect a home to an existing electric distribution line in the Navajo Nation is $40,000-$70,000. The larger problems and same challenges also exist in urban communities for low-to-moderate income families. Renewable energy powered microgrids are becoming a more viable alternative to bring access to electricity into these communities. Microgids help achieve “energy democracy and social justice”, where communities can make and consume their own energy. The situation is similar in South-East Asia and Africa. This webinar will showcase examples from India and Africa that have relevance to the disadvantaged communities in the USA and can be adapted to achieve the goals of Justice40.
This webinar is free for NCAC members: Register here.
Speaking of “happy”…hold the date for our next happy hour
Mark your calendars: September 30th, NCAC will host a joint happy hour with Leaders in Energy at Continental Beer Garden in Rosslyn. Light appetizers will be provided. Indoor/outdoor options, depending on the weather. Watch for registration details coming soon. See you all there!
Membership survey: The results are in!
Thank you to our members for participating in the recent survey NCAC undertook to consider how our future events look, considering hybrid and remote work. NCAC is examining the results to develop a plan to incorporate your feedback from the survey. We will be in touch soon with an updated format for our lunches, monthly meetings, happy hours, conference, and other events. In the meantime, if you have additional questions or suggestions, please email: President@ncac-usaee.org
Survey Results
- · The survey was conducted during the second half of May 2022 and 72 responses were collected.
- · For Thursday in-person lunches, central DC was the preferred location with (92%) indicating they would be willing to come into the city. Nearly two-thirds said they would be willing to travel to Arlington.
- · For Friday in-person lunches, central DC was still the preferred location, but with a smaller share indicating they would be willing to travel into the city (85%). Nearly two-thirds said they would be willing to travel to Arlington.
- · For evening events (happy hour) on Wednesdays or Thursdays, nearly 85% indicated they would be willing to travel to a central DC location, while nearly 70% indicated they would be willing to travel to Arlington.
- · In the free response comments, there was support for both in-person (networking) events in addition to virtual events. Several suggested hybrid events.