NATIONAL 25X'25 SUMMIT IN OMAHA TO SHAPE NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE

News Date March 03, 2008

       Learn how American agriculture and forestry will help shape a new energy future March 11 to 13 when the 4th National 25x'25 Renewable Energy Summit program will take place in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Embassy Suites Hotel. The summit will underscore the opportunities and challenges of bringing the 25x'25 renewable energy vision to life, and will address the latest in policy, research and marketplace developments. Program topics include overcoming logistical and market obstacles to a 25x'25 energy future, addressing biofuel pushback, the next generation biofuels, energy efficiency--the option of first choice, achieving a sustainable energy future, agriculture and forestry's role in a reduced-carbon economy, and broadening the 25x'25 partnership.
       Summit participants will hear the latest from leading renewable energy experts from across the nation, including Dr. Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has worked to meet the challenge of a growing demand for energy. Chu co-chairs a 90-member, international InterAcademy Council (IAC) study, "Lighting the way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future; Transitioning to Sustainable Energy." Chu, who shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for the development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light, is leading an unprecedented, multi-institute, $500-million research effort to develop new sources of energy, including biofuels, and reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment.
       Some of the other pre-eminent authorities on land-based renewable energy sources and energy efficiency to address the summit include Dr. Lowell Catlett, a Regents professor at New Mexico State University and renowned futurist; Charles Zimmerman, Wal-Mart vice president who oversees sustainable facility development; Doug Berven, director of Corporate Affairs for biofuels firm POET LLC; Susan Sloan, American Wind Energy Association; Former Rep. Charlie Stenholm, 26-year veteran of the House of Representatives; Jay Wolf, past president of Nebraska Cattlemen and a current member of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association board, and Terry Francl, senior economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation.
       To see the latest in bioenergy research, there will be a pre-conference tour March 11 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Agricultural Research and Development Center. The ARDC - one of the largest and most dynamic research facilities in the world, with approximately 400 employees conducting research and educational programs on more than 9,600 acres--is engaged in extensive research on bioenergy crops, the utilization of dried distiller's grains, and carbon sequestration of dry-land and irrigated crops.
       An "Early Bird" reduced registration fee, which offers a $30 savings, is available through March 5th. Registration for accredited media is free. For program details and to register, please visit http://www.25x25.org. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)