U.S. Clean Energy Conferences may be Preludes to a Global Conference

February 28, 2007

The largest U.S. renewable energy conference starts on March 6th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Power-Gen Renewable Energy & Fuels conference, presented by PennWell Corporation and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), brings together representatives from the solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, and fuels industries for a three-day discussion of technical, strategic, regulatory, structural, and economic issues. Last year's conference featured 142 exhibitors and was attended by 2,500 energy professionals. This year's conference runs from through March 8th. See the conference Web site.

ACORE has bigger and better plans for next year, when the group proposes to coordinate the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference in Washington, D.C. According to ACORE, the U.S. Department of State has expressed the government's interest in hosting the event, which ACORE envisions as being on par with events held in Bonn, Germany, in 2004 and in Beijing, China, in 2005. ACORE is currently seeking sponsors for the conference. See the ACORE announcement.

The Power-Gen conference is part of a busy clean energy conference season. On March 1st and 2nd, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is holding its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia, and this year the forum will focus on renewable energy. The annual conference and expo of the National Hydrogen Association starts on March 19th in San Antonio, Texas, while the National Green Building Conference —sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders—starts on March 25th in St. Louis, Missouri. April 1st marks the start of the Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference and Expo in Anaheim, California, while an international green roofs conference starts on April 29th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Federal workers will want to attend the Energy 2007 workshop and expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, starting on August 5th, while the largest U.S. solar energy conference, Solar Power 2007, starts on September 24th in Long Beach, California. Those interested in energy-efficient research facilities should consider the Labs21 2007 Annual Conference, starting on October 2nd in North Charleston, South Carolina, while green builders of all stripes should attend the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago, Illinois, starting on November 7th.