8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM Opening Remarks
9:10 AM - 9:25 AM Opening Keynote
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM The Clean Energy: Crises, Cost Curves, and Capabilities
Leading experts will address three pressing issues: the unsustainable nature of current mechanisms for supporting clean energy and the looming crash of the clean economy; the current state of existing clean technologies and their cost disparities of fossil fuels; and the need for clean energy solutions that lead to reduced consumption and improved capabilities for the Department of Defense.
10:45 AM - 11:50 AM Clean Energy Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels: How Do We Do It?
The panel will provide a framework for understanding how policy can drive innovation to make clean energy cheaper than fossil fuels. It will start with a discussion of how not to do it—for instance, why prices and caps are insufficient. It will take a look at the pieces of an energy innovation ecosystem, and identify ways policy can support innovation from basic R&D through to commercialization and deployment.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch and Keynote Presentation
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Looking Beyond the Horizon: Driving Technological Breakthroughs
This panel will highlight the importance of potentially game-changing work being done at the frontiers of energy technology. Leading experts in fundamental research, technology transfer, and technological scale-up will take us through the important role each needs to play—and discuss how policy can help new technologies deliver on their promise.
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Smart Energy Policies: Driving Innovation in a Time of Budget Austerity
A panel of policy and political experts will take the conversation into even greater depth, exploring particular policy areas and issues. Topics will include state activities to drive innovation in the clean economy; defense initiatives to accelerate their own clean transition; and other actionable recommendations.
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM: China and Clean Energy Innovation: Trade War, Technology Partner or Both?
China has become one of the top discussion topics among U.S. energy policy experts for its significant clean energy investments compared to the United States, but also its use of “green mercantilist” practices to gain greater market share. Most recently, this issue has peaked due to their growing lead in manufacturing solar technologies and U.S. trade complaints. This panel will discuss the implications of China’s clean energy strategy, the impact of Chinese “green mercantilist” practices on innovation, and potential role China could play in developing and commercializing innovative clean energy technologies globally.
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM Innovation and Environmentalism: Finding Common Ground
Turning from policy to politics, this discussion between leading experts will address the subtle but important differences between the pro-innovation movement and the traditional environmental movement, with its emphasis on carbon caps and regulations. The discussion will seek an answer to a simple but vital question: will these differences persist, or can the clean energy movement present a united front?