Energy Innovation 2013

To register and visit the full event website, please click here. This event will be live streamed below.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Breakthrough Institute are pleased to host "Energy Innovation 2013: Clean Energy, Ready for Primetime?" on January 29, 2013, at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.

Clean energy is at a crossroads. Thanks to public investments in nations like the United States, Europe, and China, solar, wind and battery technologies have over the last five years improved significantly and become cheaper, but still not as cheap as fossil fuels. Moreover, these investments, including the wind tax credit, are now coming to an end. Meanwhile, innovations in the production of natural gas are displacing coal, generating billions in consumer energy savings, and becoming the cleaner energy leader few foresaw.

What is the future of clean energy? On the one hand, Congress is divided over renewables, with the high-profile failure of taxpayer-funded Solyndra, and other clean tech companies, tarnishing green stimulus spending. On the other hand, President Obama has defended his clean tech investments and says energy innovation remains a high priority. Senate Energy Committee Chairs Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) say they are optimistic they can reach bipartisan agreement on new energy legislation. And natural gas and nuclear - two long-standing clean energy outliers - have received renewed attention due to possible inclusion in a clean energy standard.

Never before has a clear-eyed assessment of clean tech - broadly defined - been more important. Please join us for this important conference.

Highlights include:

What does the natural gas revolution teach us about how to do energy innovation?

What progress has been made with solar, wind, and batteries and how was this progress made? What can be expected of these highly promising but still nascent technologies and what's the best way to drive improvements in cost and performance?

Is nuclear energy dead due to high up-front capital costs and public fears post-Fukushima? Or is there new hope in the small modular reactors (SMRs) that DOE is purchasing, and other radical new designs? What must be done to accelerate their innovation?

What should be the highest policy priorities of energy innovation advocates - RD&D, subsidies and mandates, or carbon pricing?

This event will be webcast live below.