Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels: Competitors, Collaborators or Both?

Ethical MarketsResource Efficiency

This webinar is presented by the USAEE and ACORE

Both natural gas and renewable fuels are expected to provide a significantly increasing share of US electricity due to increasing environmental pressures on coal. In one sense, promoters of natural gas and promoters of renewables will be key competitors vying to provide electricity to customers. Should we actually expect that one or the other will eventually become a clear winner? In another sense, natural gas and renewable technologies have features that make them natural collaborators. Wind and solar power have very low operating costs but are not always on; natural gas generation can readily change output as needed, but the fuel cost experiences significant variability. Should we actually expect that natural gas and renewable fuels need each other so they can both grow?

This webinar will focus on the role that natural gas and renewable fuels are increasingly expected to play and the complex economic and policy relationship between them.

The US Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) and ACORE have brought together several prominent experts for this special webinar. The webinar is co-chaired by Ben Schlesinger (BSA Energy) and Chris Flavin (Worldwatch Institute). Both are energy veterans and scholars of the economic and policy drivers of the relationships between natural gas and renewable fuels. The panelists are economists John Parsons (MIT), Karen Palmer (RFF) and Doug Arent (NREL). All three have recently done important research on the economic and policy relationships between natural gas and renewable fuels. The panelists will make opening statements and leave adequate time to address comments and questions from webinar participants.

Call Times:
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Eastern
11:00 am – 12:30 pm Central
10:00 am – 11:30 am Mountain
9:00 am – 10:30 am Pacific
8:00 am – 9:30 am Alaskan

Introductory Remarks
Michael T. Eckhart, President, American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)
Charles G. Rossmann, President, US Association of Energy Economics (USAEE)

Moderators:
Christopher Flavin, President, Worldwatch Institute
Dr. Benjamin Schlesinger, Founding President, Benjamin Schlesinger & Associates

Speakers:
Dr. John Parsons, Executive Director, Center For Energy & Environmental Policy Research, MIT
Dr. Doug Arent, Executive Director, Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Dr. Karen L. Palmer, Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow, Resources For the Future (RFF)

Q & A Submission:
Q & A session during the webinar will follow the speakers’ presentations.  Please use the ask questions button on your webinar screen to submit your questions.

How to participate in this webinar
To participate in this webinar, please register online. The webinar instructions will be emailed to you. There is a $30.00 administrative fee to participate. ACORE and USAEE member discount applies.

Click to register