The Energy Conversation             

July 13th, 2009 

Jon Wellinghoff (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)

Senator Jeff Merkley (D: Oregon)

Ed Wall (Department of Energy)

Kermit Witherbee (Bureau of Land Management)

Andrew Sabin (Navy)

Is America warming up to Geothermal Energy?

Rapid expansion and utilization of renewable energy technologies are at the core of the administration’s priorities and a critical “game changer” for renewables will be the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  ARRA committed $400 million for geothermal technologies, dwarfing previous government commitments.  Geothermal energy is baseload and renewable, with a small footprint and an enormous resource potential.  Increased funding, political support, and rising concerns regarding climate change have created the perfect storm for exponentially deploying geothermal energy.  Is the time finally right?  A panel consisting of Ed Wall, program manager from the Geothermal Technologies Program at Department of Energy, Kermit Witherbee, Bureau of Land Management at Department of Interior, and Andrew Sabin, Naval Air Weapons Station Geothermal Program Office, will discuss the complexities and challenges facing the industry, from financing and policy to leasing and permitting. 

Senator Merkley, or a member of his staff, will address the legislative agenda related to jumpstarting a clean energy economy to create sustainable jobs.

July 13^th, 2009                                                                  

5:30 to 8:15 pm                                            

L’Enfant Plaza Hotel                                               

480 L’Enfant Plaza, SW    

Washington, DC

Directions to L’Enfant Plaza Hotel.  Metro stop on Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange lines

Inside directions to Hotel:  Up escalator, through the glass doors. First right. Look at overhead signs to hotel, brown doors on right with no signage.   We will post a sign for the meeting. Up the stairs to hotel lobby.

Jeff Merkley, Democratic Senator from Oregon.

Senator Merkley studied international relations at Stanford and earned a graduate degree in Public Policy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  He worked as a national security analyst at the Pentagon and at the Congressional Budget Office, and in 1991 returned to Oregon to lead Portland’s Habitat for Humanity.  While at Habitat, Merkley led the neighborhood in shutting down Portland’s worst crack market, developed the Habitat Home Building Center, and launched a pilot project to establish Portland Youthbuilders.  Merkley later served as President of the Oregon World Affairs Council.  Merkley’s interest in public office is an extension of his passion about building a better America - asking the simple question: “What is best for our children, our workers, our families, and our planet?”  Merkley won his first campaign for State Representative in 1998, was elected Democratic Leader in 2003 and Speaker in 2007.  As Oregon’s House Speaker, Merkley emphasized a culture of bipartisan problem solving, passed landmark environmental and energy legislation, established domestic partnerships, cracked down on predatory payday and title lending, and created Oregon’s first ever Rainy Day fund.

Edward J. Wall ,  Program Manager of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Geothermal Technologies Program Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The mission of the Department’s Geothermal Technologies Program is to conduct research and development (R&D) and technology validations that demonstrate the feasibility of significant geothermal contributions to renewable domestic base load energy supply.  From 2003 to 2008, he directed EEREs Vehicle Technology Program research activities in hybrid drivetrains, advanced batteries, lightweight materials, advanced combustion and fuels, vehicle systems integration, and deployment.  Prior to joining EERE, Mr. Wall developed DOE technology utilization and commercialization policies for the Deputy Under Secretary for Research and Development Management.  Mr. Wall was also the point of contact for implementation of numerous interagency activities relating to sustainable technologies, and the primary analyst for major partnership activities in the Department.  With the Department of the Interior, Mr. Wall directed policy analyses related to exploration and production of oil and gas on the U.S. outer continental shelf.  These ranged from assessments of the effectiveness of offshore inspection procedures and the potential advantages of offshore oil terminals in U.S. oil distribution to the expected impacts of domestic content legislation on offshore platform fabrication.  Mr. Wall received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Muhlenberg College in 1972, and a Master's degree in Geology from the Johns Hopkins University in 1975.

Kermit Witherbee  Manager,  Bureau of Land Management’s National Geothermal Program.

Previous BLM assignments have included Deputy Division Chief, Fluid Minerals Division and division Magager, Fluid Minerals at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Headquarters, Washington, DC; Fluid Minerals Group Manager and Reservoir Management Branch Chief, Colorado State Office: and District Petroleum Geologist, Craig District, Craig, Colorado. Prior to joining BLM, he held positions as Exploration Geologist and Exploration Project Manager in private industry.  His career with BLM has included staff and supervisory responsibilities in the oil and gas leasing and management, reservoir management evaluations, as well as national level policy development, strategic planning, and budget.  He worked for the House of Representatives Resources Committee as a Congressional Fellow during the 107^th Congress.  He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geology from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Andrew E. Sabin,  Director of Navy's Geothermal Program Office at China Lake, CA. 

Dr. Sabin earned his BS in Geology from the University of Maryland, MS in Geology from the University of Pittsburgh and his PhD in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines.  With over 20 years experience as a geologist in private industry and government, Andy has been on the leading edge of a new partnering of government, academia and industry in the development of new concepts of geothermal occurrence modeling - and the application of these models to the exploration for geothermal energy on military lands.