October 16-17, 2017 in Hood River, OR
Sustainable Northwest in partnership with Hood River County and Lake County Resources Initiative hosted the second annual Fall Energy Symposium in Hood River, Oregon October 16-17, 2017. This 2-day event brought together community leaders, businesses, elected officials, ranchers, farmers, and agency partners to identify strategies to advance clean energy initiatives across Oregon.
The theme for this year was Community Resiliency Through Emergency Preparedness and Energy Independence. Speakers and presentations can be found below.
Our keynote speaker was Debra Smith, General Manager for the Central Lincoln People’s Utility District. Her talk, An Incremental Approach to Organizational Resiliency, shared strategies the central coast is pursuing to prepare for greater community resiliency and emergency preparedness.
This year's event included a special social hour at pFriem Family Brewers with Rick Williams, a leading expert in energy resiliency.
2017 Symposium panels and power points located below:
Roundtable Discussion: Federal and state policies:
Phil Chang, Field Representative for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Federal Energy Policy 2017
Jana Gastellum, Oregon Environmental Council, Clean Energy Jobs: Investing in Oregon
Rob Del Mar, Oregon Department of Energy
Workshop: A deep dive in the Community Solar Program:
Nolan Moser, Oregon Public Utility Commission
Rikki Seguin, Renewable Northwest, Oregon IOU Community Solar
Charlie Coggeshall, Clean Energy Collective, Community Solar In Oregon
Community Spotlight: Success stories from RARE Americorps initiatives across Oregon:
Marla Harvey, Hood River County, Hood River County Energy Planning
Norah Owings, Hannah Sohl and Connor Shields, Rogue Climate and City of Talent, RARE in Talent
Lindsey Hardy, Environmental Center, The Energy Challenge
Oregon's emerging community models:
Dan Orzech, Oregon Clean Power Cooperative, Oregon Clean Power Cooperative
Evan Ramsey, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Community Solar Models
Bridget Callahan, Sustainable Northwest, Oregon Community Solar
Community Resiliency: Emergency preparedness and energy independence:
Rick Williams, Oregon Applied Research and Portland State University, Rural Resilience
Ken Dragoon, Flink Energy Consulting, Renewable Energy and Emergency Prepardness
Dan Bihn, Bihn Communications LLC, Lessons Learned from Japan
Masami Nishishiba, Portland State University and Initiatives for Community Disaster Resilience, Initiative For Community Disaster Resilience
Barb Ayers, Hood River County Sheriff's Office, Get Ready Gorge
Funding your project:
Susan Badger-Jones, Energy Trust of Oregon, Project Funding
Todd Andres, Pacific Power, Blue Sky Grant
Robert Wallace, Wy'East RC&D, Funding Your Project
A detailed agenda can be found here
For questions about the Symposium or the Making Energy Work for Rural Oregon network, please contact Bridget Callahan, Energy Program Associate, at (503) 756-0494 or bcallahan@sustainablenorthwest.org