Energy Innovation Forums
Energy Innovation Forums bring together industry leaders, academics, policymakers and community advocates to discuss innovative energy technologies that have the potential to increase grid reliability while decarbonizing and spurring the economy.
The goal of these forums is to learn about new technologies, discuss challenges and opportunities, and foster bipartisan collaboration on energy policy.
Past Forums
The Future of Advanced Nuclear Energy in Texas: Exploring Advanced Nuclear Technologies
February 11th, 2025
Featuring:
Thomas Gleeson, Chairman of the Public Utility Commission
Dr. Rusty Towell, Abilene Christian University
Texas State Senator Charles Perry, District 28
Jennifer Dunn, Fmr. British Embassy in Washington, D.C
Matthew MacVicar, Rolls Royce-SMR
Moderated by Dylan Baddour, InsideClimateNews
Safeguarding Texans:
Securing the Grid from Extreme Weather & Cyber Attacks
June 11th, 2024:
Featuring:
Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson, District 16
Dr. Thomas Overbye, Texas A&M
Jon Knauer, ConnectDER
Moderated by Jason Rodriguez, Zpryme
Connecting Texas: How to Build More Transmission & Reduce Consumer Costs
April 30th, 2024:
Featuring:
Texas State Representative Drew Darby, District 72
Jason Ryan, CenterPoint Energy
Dr. Joshua Rhodes, Webber Energy Group, UT Austin
Michael D. Lozano, Permian Basin Petroleum Association
Moderated by Matthew Boms, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Exploring the Future of Geothermal in Texas
March 26th, 2024
Featuring:
Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell, District 22
Cindy D. Taff, Sage Geosystems
Dr. Ken Wisian, UT Austin
Jennifer Bremer, Texas Land & Mineral Owner Association
Jason Sorter, Geothermal Rising
Moderated by Matt Welch, Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance
Texas Hydrogen Economy: Uniting Policy, Workforce Development & Industrial Decarbonization
November 29th, 2023:
Featuring:
Wei Wang, Texas Railroad Commission
Dr. Emily Beagle, Webber Energy Group, UT Austin
Liz Ramsay Dalton, HyVelocity Hub, GTI Energy
Bo Delp, Texas Climate Jobs Project
Moderated by Jeremy Mazur, Texas 2036
Unleashing the Power of Energy Efficiency
March 14th, 2023
Featuring:
Texas State Representative Rafael Anchía, District 103
Noah Oaks, SPEER
Dr. Stefania Tomaskovic, Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience (CEER)
Dr. Sergio Castellanos, UT Austin
Jason M. Ryan, CenterPoint Energy
Moderated by Mose Buchele, KUT
Advanced Nuclear Opportunities for Texas
February 27th, 2023:
Featuring:
Texas State Representative Gary Gates, House District 28
Marc Nichol, Nuclear Energy Institute
Jordan Robison, Natura Resources
Dr. Derek Haas, UT Austin
Moderated by Shelby Webb, Environment & Energy Publishing (E&E) News Reporter
Unlocking the Potential of Hydrogen in Texas
February 13th, 2023:
Featuring:
Dr. Joshua Rhodes, Webber Energy Group, UT Austin
Roxana Bekemohammadi, Founder and Executive Director of United States Hydrogen Alliance
Nichole Saunders, Director and Senior Attorney for Environmental Defense Fund
Mark Stover, Director of State Affairs for Apex Clean Energy
Moderated by Dylan Baddour, Energy and Environmental Justice Reporter, Inside Climate News
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
February 6th, 2023:
Featuring:
Dr. Katherine Romanak, Research Scientist for the Bureau of Economic Geology
Glen Bailey, Vice President at Carbon Clean
Virginia Palacios, Executive Director at Commission Shift
Texas State Representative Drew Darby, District 72
Moderated by Kyra Buckley, Energy Reporter for the Houston Chronicle
The Texas Electric Grid: How Does it Work and is it Fixed?
January 24th, 2023:
Featuring:
Pat Wood, CEO of Hunt Energy, Former Chairman of PUC and FERC
Carrie Bivens, ERCOT Independent Market Monitor, Potomac Economics
Bill Barnes, Director of Regulatory Energy at NRG Energy
Moderated by Phil Jankowski, Austin Correspondent for The Dallas Morning News
How to Build the Grid of the Future
August 18th, 2022:
Featuring:
Aaron Berndt, Head of Industry Energy Partnerships at Google
Ignacio Guajardo, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance
Lee Bratcher, Texas Blockchain Council
Robert Nathan, Schneider Electric
