At June 2010′s CleanTX Forum, “Water: The Rush for Blue Gold,” a panel consisting of Steve Watzeck, strategy and chief marketing officer at GE Power and Water, Vincent Tidwell of Sandia National Laboratories, Tom Mason, general manager of LCRA, and Amy Hardberger, hydrologist at the Texas EDF office, gave four complementary perspectives on the alarming outlook for increased water and energy demand. After the panel, Watzeck said he was shocked by the amount of clean-tech innovation coming out of Austin, Texas.
Michael Webber, associate director of UT’s Center for International Energy and Policy and co-director of the ATI Clean Energy Incubator, moderated the discussion and Melissa Rabeaux, CleanTX executive director and ATI marketing manager, coordinated the event. The Austin Technology Incubator hosted the forum in the auditorium at UT’s West Pickle Research Center, where the ATI and many of its member companies office.
Tags: amy hardberger, ATI, austin technology incubator, Clean Energy, cleantx forum, dave gerold, EDF, ge, john king, lcra, michael webber, sandia national laboratories, steve watzeck, tom mason, vincent tidwell
The connection between energy demand and water usage is important, and I agree that it’s a problem that doesn’t get nearly the attention or awareness that it deserves. It’s important that people understand the impact that all of their actions — like just turning on the lights! — have on the environment, not just things like driving their cars.
Texas companies, and Austin companies in particular, are doing important work to meet the increasing demand for energy in an environmentally responsible way, and at InnovateTexas we’re excited to be a part of that effort. If any of the attendees of this conference are interested in hearing how InnovateTexas is helping local companies find what they need to build their businesses, including funding, please visit our website at http://www.innovatetexas.org/ for more information.