The two-day conference was jump-started by pre-conference sessions on topics ranging from wind and solar power to increasing renewable energy on tribal lands. There was a tri-university roundtable discussion in which\u00a0Tom Acker<\/strong>, director of Sustainable Energy Solutions, represented NAU.<\/p>\n Friday morning, William Auberle<\/strong>, professor of civil engineering, construction management and environmental engineering, greeted conference attendees and introduced NAU President\u00a0John Haeger<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis conference is a reflection of the energy transformation that we are seeing across the United States and the world,\u201d Auberle said. \u201cStudents at Northern Arizona University are living sustainability, and it is Dr. Haeger we have to thank for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Haeger then shared with the crowd why NAU was the best place to host the conference. \u201cNorthern Arizona University is one of the greenest campuses in the country,\u201d Haeger said. \u201cYou will find four LEED buildings on campus, and we are looking to build more in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n State Rep. Chris Deschene, made opening remarks Thursday night and welcomed J.D. Sitton, president and CEO of\u00a0Infinia Corp<\/a>. Infinia offers the world’s first solar power generation system suitable for automotive scale manufacturing.<\/p>\n Randy Udall, former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, was Thursday\u2019s keynote speaker. At CORE, Udall helped to partner with electric utilities and local governments, which led to Colorado\u2019s first solar energy incentive program, the world’s first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program and some of the most progressive green power purchasing programs in the country.<\/p>\n Don Robinson, president and CEO of Arizona Public Service explained the utility\u2019s progressive efforts to bring sustainable energy to Arizona.<\/p>\n The event culminated in a free “green jobs” panel that was open to the public. Local business owner Andy Kruse, vice president of\u00a0Southwest Windpower<\/a>, participated and Billy Parish, founder of Energy Action Coalition and a resident of Flagstaff, gave Friday\u2019s keynote address.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Kristin](\"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/kristin_mason.jpg\")
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