UNC Institute for the Environment hosted the 2023 CleanTech Summit on March 27 and 28.
The Sustainable Carolina team worked as exhibitors at the event and also attended sessions across the conference’s eight different tracks. Below, our team shares the significant sustainability-related ideas we learned from specific panelists.
Keynote
Session: Roadblocks to the clean energy transition | A tale of good vs. good
Panelist: Robert Blue, President and CEO, Dominion Energy
Wind turbine blades are twice as long as they used to be. Because of this, they now generate twice as much power. Dominion has not only installed solar panels at abandoned mine sites, they’re also retraining coal craftsmen to work as solar technicians.
Track: Agriculture’s Solutions to Climate Change
Session: Sustainable Intensification
Panelist: Leif Fixen, North America Soil Health and Nutrients Strategy Manager, Nature Conservancy
The idea of innovating to increase productivity on farmland took many forms during this session. Plantd discussed how they plant fields of grass to compete with the timber industry in production of homebuilding materials. Living Carbon explained how through photosynthesis enhancement, its trees grow faster and accumulate more biomass in less time. Lief Fixen of the Nature Conservancy spoke from the nonprofit point of view, describing how they inspire change. Nature Conservancy staff meets with farmers to talk about ways to grow more on their fields and catch pollutants as close to those fields as possible. Through farmer advisor work, corporate engagement, public policy, and innovation programs, they’re able to meet the needs of all players in the agricultural system.
Track: Carbon Capture and Removal Strategies
Session: Blue Carbon | Established Solutions
Panelist: Amy Schmid, Global Blue Carbon Project Lead, Conservation International
Amid growing concerns about the societal impact of carbon offset projects, Conservation International takes these concerns into consideration. For example, they work with communities around the world to teach them how to adapt their workflow to be more sustainable. One example is teaching fishing communities ways to continue fishing without depleting the fish population.
Track: Smart Mobility and Low-Carbon Transportation
Session: Vehicle to Grid Solutions
Panelist: Mark Braby, CCO, Synop
Electric school buses could be used as storage for the electric grid if they are capable of both charging and discharging. Through an arrangement with the utility company, school buses can earn up to $10,000 per summer as they are an asset for the grid.
Track: Green Finance
Session: Blended Finance and Green Banks
Panelist: Jennifer Weiss, Co-Director, NC Clean Energy Fund
This session discussed funding strategies accelerating the energy transition. The North Carolina Clean Energy Fund is led by two female co-directors with finance, environment, and government backgrounds. The startup NGO comes at the right time, given all of the federal money that will be sent out to fund climate initiatives. The New York Green Bank, a state-sponsored entity, is already putting plans to action. It has funded hydrogen fuel cell powered forklifts at package fulfillment warehouses.
Track: Building Foundations for Cleantech in the Mid-Atlantic (VA, NC, SC, GA)
Session: Building a Complete Battery Supply Chain in North Carolina
Panelist: Jeff Warren, Executive Director, N.C. Policy Collaboratory
In North Carolina, Gaston County has an abundance of lithium deposits. Jeff Warren, who moderated the panel, talked about the region he refers to as the “research tripod,” the manufacturing corridor that drives economic development in the state. The panel consisted of three professionals from upstream (Piedmont Lithium), middle stream (Soelect), and downstream (Ford) businesses in the battery supply chain. Piedmont Lithium and Soelect are based in this “research tripod” region.
Track: Energy Policy
Session: State Energy Policy
Panelist: Rachael Estes, Director of State Affairs, Apex Clean Energy
Moderator Alex Miller, founder and principal of Alex Miller Government affairs, asked the panelists their thoughts on the recent substation attacks and blackouts in North Carolina and the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) study out of South Carolina. Rachael Estes said that the overarching theme is access; a bad actor led to access in the substation attacks, those victim to the blackouts had a lack of access to needed electricity, and the RTO study brought up the question, “Should we access a different market?”