Keynote speakers for GEA Geothermal Energy Finance Forum 2012 announced
Karl Gawell (right) in an interview with Stephen Lacey of Renewable Energy World (source: REW)
Alexander Richter
9 Dec 2011
The U.S. Geothermal Energy Association announces the keynote speakers for the GEA Geothermal Energy Finance Forum in San Francisco, January 18, 2012. Ann Simposon of CalPERS and Karen Douglas from the California Energy Commission will address the forum.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) announced the keynote speakers for the GEA Geothermal Energy Finance Forum in San Francisco.
Anne Simpson of CalPERS and Karen Douglas from the California Energy Commission will address attendees at the Forum. On January 18, the GEA will convene the financial community at San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis for the forum, which unites the finance and investment communities of the East and West coasts and features a tutorial on geothermal energy investment with top experts in the field, including Simpson and Douglas. GEA thanks Finance Forum Gold Level sponsor SNC Lavalin, a company with a thermal team that has successfully completed over 60,000 MW of thermal power projects worldwide, while also committed to achieving a superior financial return for its shareholders.
“We are so pleased to have two such intelligent, financially savvy leaders of the energy sector keynoting the GEA Finance Forum,” said GEA Executive Director Karl Gawell. “The Finance Forum is designed to take the geothermal industry to the next level of financial development. Anne, an investing expert, and Karen, a California energy authority, will provide terrific insight to the attendees.”
Simpson has been called the “one of the world’s most influential investor activists.” Currently, she serves as Senior Portfolio Manager and head of Corporate Governance at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the United States. She has previously served as Executive Director of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), an organization that represents investors responsible for $15 trillion in global assets.
Douglas serves as the Lead Commissioner on energy efficiency, power plant siting, and federal stimulus programs at the California Energy Commission. She was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 and served a two-year term as Chair until February 2011. Douglas has previously been involved in energy and environment issues as the director of the California Climate Initiative at Environmental Defense and Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League.
The program will feature discussions with additional geothermal leaders including Dan Nastou, Power and Infrastructure, John Hancock Financial Services; John Marciano, Chadbourne & Parke LLP; Rick Rodgers, Managing Director and CEO, Montgomery Street Financial; Mark Taylor, Lead Analyst, CCS & Geothermal, Bloomberg New Energy Finance; Shinji Yamamoto, Chief Investment Officer, IFC; CJ Arrigo, Advisor, Glacier; David Watson, Hudson Ranch I, EnergySource; Jonathan Weisgall, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affaris, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company; Kent Burton, National Environmental Strategies; Jonathan Zurkoff, VP of Finance, U.S. Geothermal; Louis Capuano Jr, Chairman of the Board, ThermaSource; Subir Sanyal, President and Manager of Reservoir Engineering, GeothermEx; Anders Kruss, Alterra Power Corp.; Craig Mataczynski, CEO, Gradient Resources; Lenny Hochschild, Managing Director, Evolution Markets, Inc.; and more.
California is a policy leader in the United States with one of the most ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standards in the country. California’s landmark renewable energy standard legislation was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown this year, and will require California utilities to provide at least a third of their electricity from clean and safe renewable sources like geothermal by the year 2020. With 48 operating geothermal power plants and approximately 2,500 MW of installed geothermal capacity, California is No. 1 in United States’ geothermal generation. It is estimated that the state has a potential of more than 3,000 megawatts of additional power from geothermal energy, using current technologies.
To register for the event, please visit: http://geo-energy.org/events/finance_forum_2012.aspx. Discounted registration is available through December 23rd. Significant discounts for GEA Members and Students are available.
Source: GEA Press Release by email
