Colorado’s energy future was the topic of the Colorado Rural Electric Association’s daylong Energy Innovations Summit October 28 in downtown Denver.
A lively discussion of what is needed for Colorado’s electric industry, particularly the electric co-ops, to transition to more renewables opened the event. Former Gov. Bill Ritter, now with the Center for the New Energy Economy, and Duane Highley, new CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, talked about the innovations on the horizon that both of their organizations will be pursuing.
The daylong conference also included controversial luncheon speaker Michael Shellenberger, a pronuclear energy environmentalist named by Time magazine as a “hero of the environment.”
Other topics discussed during the day included breakout sessions on community choice aggregation, micro grids, new technologies being introduced and beneficial electrification. There was also an update on energy storage before the day wrapped up with an update of regional electricity markets for Colorado.
To hear the opening discussion and several other sessions, visit crea.coop/crea-podcasts. To review slides presented during panel discussions, click here.