Quick takes from the 2017 State Energy Conference of North Carolina

The 2017 State Energy Conference, organized by NC State University Office of Professional Development and the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, took place on April 11-12 at NC State's McKimmon Center. The Duke University Energy Initiative was an academic partner for the event, which included dozens of panels, plenary sessions, and keynote addresses on "solutions for a diverse energy economy."

Many sessions featured the expertise of Duke alumni, faculty and staff, including: 

• Charles Adair (MEM'10), Carbon Offsets Initiative, Duke University (moderator, "Leveraging big data to advance North Carolina's residential energy efficiency market") 
• Robin Aldina (MEM'13), North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (panelist, "North Carolina's residential renewable energy market in 2017 and beyond")
• Sarah Adair (MEM), Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University (moderator, "Traditional fossil fuel generation in North Carolina's energy future")
• Joe Baden (E'70), NC State Construction Office (panelist, "Energy efficiency policy and practice in North Carolina") 
• Bill Brown (JD'80), NET Power, 8 Rivers Capital (panelist, "Carolina technology: Solving global energy problems) 
• Will Fadrhonc (MEM/MBA'12), Google (panelist, "How efficiency policy shapes an industry") 
• David Hoppock, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University (panelist, "Nuclear energy's future in the Southeast") 
• Daniel Kauffman (BSE, MEM'01), Resispeak, Inc. (panelist, "Leveraging big data to advance North Carolina's residential energy efficiency market") 
• Betsy McCorkle (MEM'10), Kairos Government Affairs (panelist, "Changing winds: How technology, policy, and manufacturing are maturing for North Carolina's wind industry") 
• Jackson Naftel (MEM'12), Strata Solar (panelist, "Land use for renewable energy") 
• Paul Quinlan (MEM/MPP'06), ScottMadden (panelist, "The long view: How much wind and solar can North Carolina support?") 
• ‚ÄãIvan Urlaub (MEM/MPP'04), North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (introductory remarks, keynote plenary panel: "Energy poverty in North Carolina") 
• Steve Sexton, faculty, Sanford School of Public Policy, Department of Economics, Energy Initiative, Duke University (moderator, "Value of a balanced solar economy")

Meanwhile, four teams of students representing schools across Duke displayed and discussed their Bass Connections in Energy projects at the Research Poster Competition. Duke students Samit Sura (Economics) and Eric Peshkin (Mathematics) took top honors for their work on "Automated Building Energy Consumption Estimation From Aerial Imagery," completed in coordination with the Energy Initiative's Energy Data Analytics Lab.