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PEA Announces Clean Energy Conference with Smart Energy Decisions

 

Philadelphia, June 27, 2019 – Smart Energy Decisions (SED), in association with the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA), an independent creation of City Council, announced Thursday that Philadelphia will host a major regional clean energy conference, Accelerate Philly, in December 2019. The event is organized in response to the growing interest and urgent need to increase the use of clean energy and reduce energy use and emissions to meet the City’s and region’s climate mitigation goals.

Accelerate Philly will be held December 9-10, 2019 at the Logan Hotel in Philadelphia. The event will deliver the information, inspiration and contacts needed to help large electric power users in the greater Philadelphia region implement best practices in renewable energy sourcing and energy efficiency. Attendees are energy, sustainability, and facility executives in the 11-county Greater Philadelphia region, including parts of New Jersey and Delaware. These attendees represent commercial, industrial, higher education and school districts, healthcare facilities, and city agencies and municipalities.

“Philadelphia is poised for dramatic growth and job creation in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Emily Schapira, executive director of the Philadelphia Energy Authority. “What’s needed now is to bring together large energy users and the vendors that provide these services to kickstart this work. We are grateful that SED has elected to bring this unique event to Philly.”

“In order to meet our climate commitments, including 80% carbon reduction by 2050, we need to jumpstart clean energy projects for the commercial sector,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “Philadelphia has been leading by example both with major solar and efficiency projects and new policies to encourage these projects. We are excited to welcome this event to our city.”

Accelerate Philly offers a unique format featuring a study tour of current energy projects underway in the city; strategic customer keynote presentations and panels, pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings between customers and suppliers, and peer-to-peer networking in an intimate environment for focused discussion on mutual challenges and opportunities.

The event is being developed by Smart Energy Decisions, the Philadelphia Energy Authority, and a steering committee of industry thought leaders from the Philadelphia area including Michael Waslin, senior executive, environmental sustainability, Merck; Ryan Spies, director of energy, sustainability and stewardship at Saint Gobain; Christine Knapp, director of the office of sustainability for the City of Philadelphia, and Ken Cowan, vice president of ENGIE Solutions. ENGIE is the lead sponsor of Accelerate Philly.

“When we launched the Philadelphia Energy Campaign in 2016, we committed to driving $1 billion in investment to create 10,000 good jobs in energy efficiency and clean energy by 2026,” said City Council President Darrell Clarke. “The Accelerate Philly conference is an opportunity for us to show leaders in clean energy how much we have achieved here in Philadelphia and to access how we are going to stay on track to meet our goals.”

For more information on Accelerate Philly, visit https://acceleratephilly2019.smartenergydecisions.com

 

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About Smart Energy Decisions

Smart Energy Decisions is a web-based information and event platform dedicated to helping large electric power users navigate the energy transition by delivering news, research, connections and events that drive more informed decisions. Explore our content at www.smartenergydecisions.com

 

About Philadelphia Energy Authority

The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) is an independent municipal authority chartered by City Council and the Mayor in 2010, focused on issues of energy affordability and sustainability. In 2016, with City Council President Darrell Clarke, PEA launched the Philadelphia Energy Campaign, a $1 billion, 10-year investment in energy efficiency and clean energy projects in 4 sectors: City buildings, schools, affordable housing and small businesses. In its first two years, the Energy Campaign helped launch $100 million in projects and created nearly 1000 jobs. Learn more about the Philadelphia Energy Campaign at www.philaenergy.org.

 

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