The Western States Energy & Environment Symposium will uncover some hard realities facing all of the Western states, including Colorado and Wyoming, according to WSEES Co-chair Representative Tom Lubnau.  The need to get out in front of those new energy realities make cooperation with other Western states a necessity, he said.

Senate President John Hines, Speaker Colin Simpson and the Wyoming State Legislature will host legislative leaders from 14 western states, top private sector energy innovators, energy experts from the environmental community and state regulatory officials October 25 – 27 in Jackson, Wyoming.  The Symposium centers on a number of key policy elements:

→ Develop a common legislative understanding of each state’s respective energy and environmental concerns;

→ A commitment to achieve clear next steps to the most important energy and environmental challenges facing the West;

→  A blueprint to a cooperative agreement that represents a western energy policy dealing specifically with development, transmission, and the environment; and,

→  Agreement to develop a cost-benefit analysis to key energy and environmental issues in the West.

The Symposium also announced the addition of Catherine Zoi, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as a keynote speaker.

Lubnau explained that the WSEES leadership worked hard to create a balanced and engaging panel of experts and policy-makers.  The legislator said that might not mean you are going to love everything you hear.

“It is important that we all come to the conference knowing that policy-makers across the West have very diverse approaches regarding energy and the environment,” Lubnau said.  “We won’t necessarily be hearing all the things we want to hear, but we’ll be hearing the things we need to hear.”

“You can expect the Symposium to involve hard realities of the issues beyond our borders — and as an exporter to those markets — Wyoming will need to realize and react to the market reality that will dictate so much of our future,” he added. 

Lubnau pointed specifically to issues such as portfolio standards that have been adopted in ten of the fourteen states attending.  “That’s why we need to act aggressively.  If we are to make progress for Wyoming, we need to hear everything — not just the things we want to hear.”

State leaders confirmed that six Senate Presidents and four Speakers of the House in additional to multiple Energy Chairs and other designated leaders will attend the Symposium.

The WSEES is scheduled for October 25 – 27 in Jackson, Wyoming.  For further information on the symposium or to register, please visit www.wsees.com.

The 14 Western states participating in the WSEES are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.