Keynote Session
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
3:00 – 5:00 PM
Brasilia Ballroom
Open to ALL registered attendees
Welcome Address

Teresa Hansen, Senior Editor, Power Engineering magazine
POWER-GEN Renewable Energy & Fuels Executive Board and Conference Committee Co-Chair

Jackie Jones, Editorial Director, Renewable Energy World magazine
POWER-GEN Renewable Energy & Fuels Executive Board and Conference Committee Co-Chair
Featured Speakers
Mayor Oscar B. Goodman City of Las Vegas

He’s brutally honest, not afraid to speak his mind and he loves his constituents just as much as they love him. Whatever you say about Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, no one can doubt the love he has for this community and his overwhelming desire to make it even better. He says to anyone who will listen that he’s the “Happiest Mayor in the Universe.” In April of 2007, Mayor Oscar Goodman was re-elected to a third, four-year term. Mayor Goodman now serves as the Chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and feverishly works to promote the enticing destination of Las Vegas. Mayor Goodman has also started OPAC, Oscar’s Political Action Committee, to promote and protect the interests of Las Vegas.
Mayor Goodman has been responsible for many great accomplishments in the heart of downtown. As Mayor, he was successful in acquiring a large piece of urban real estate in the city without resorting to eminent domain. Union Park, a phenomenal 61-acre planned development, will include the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, a 350,000 square-foot Performing Arts Center, boutique hotels, multiple high residential units, business, medical, and retail opportunities. Downtown is undergoing a dramatic change, a renaissance. It is evolving into a vibrant place for living, working, and being able to enjoy entertainment and art venues.

The Mayor’s mother was a renowned sculptor and influenced him greatly. Her appreciation for art is reflective of the Mayor’s efforts to enhance culture and the arts in Las Vegas. You can currently visit an emerging eclectic mix of live-work artist residences and galleries known as the 18b Arts District. You can always catch the Mayor at an event called First Friday, which the Mayor describes as “a sense of place in an artistic environment.” Thousands of people now flock downtown to this once a month event. Mayor Goodman also acquired a beautifully historic downtown post office from the General Service Administration, which he plans to refurbish as a museum of Las Vegas, showcasing his city’s colorful history. Fremont East Entertainment District continues the synergy of downtown featuring trendy new gathering places for dining, dancing, cocktails and enjoyment. An intellectual market place is being designed in a historical Spanish styled elementary school and will be home to the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ School of Architecture, UNLV Modern Letters Program and the Nevada School of the Arts.

Goodman was born and raised in Philadelphia, he graduated from Haverford College and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He and his wife of 45 years, Carolyn, moved to Las Vegas in 1964 “with $87 in our pockets,” he’s fond of saying. They grew up with the town. Goodman established an extremely successful law practice and made a name for himself by taking on some of the toughest cases and winning them. Goodman is now representing the City with the same fervor he brought to every case he tried as a criminal defense attorney. For his legal work, the National Law Journal has recognized him as one of the “15 Best Trial Lawyers in America.” Because of his unique client list, his exploits were the subject of a British documentary titled, “Mob Law.” He also played himself in the movie “Casino.” Carolyn is the founder and President of the first non-profit, non-sectarian private school in Nevada, The Meadows.

The Mayor also has a few personal reasons for wanting to keep Las Vegas strong. Carolyn and he have four grown children, all of whom now call Las Vegas their home. He wants for them the same thing he wants for every resident—the ability to make your dreams come true. “When Carolyn and I came here, Las Vegas was truly the land of milk and honey,” he says. “You could establish a career, make something for yourself, and enjoy a great quality of life. I want to make sure that never changes.”
Ms. Karen Hyde, Vice President, Resource Planning and Acquisition Xcel Energy

Karen Hyde has a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Lafayette College and a Master of Science in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. Ms. Hyde has worked in the utility industry for over 20 years. As Vice President of Resource Planning and Acquisition Xcel Energy, Ms. Hyde is responsible system reliability and planning for and acquiring sufficient generation, transmission service, and natural gas resources for a 22,000 MW combined system.

Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company, with operations in 10 Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies. In terms of customers, it is the fifth-largest combination natural gas and electricity company in the nation. The Xcel Energy system serves wholesale and retail customers in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota. Xcel Energy is the No. 1 provider of wind energy to retail customers and will have over 2700 MW of wind generation in its system by the end of 2007.
Mr. Brandon Owens, Program Manager, Strategic Analysis & Scenario Planning, GE Energy

Brandon Owens is an authority on global renewable energy markets, technologies, and policies. A specialist in market forecasting, scenario planning, and competitive strategy analysis, he is currently the Program Manager of Strategic Analysis & Scenario Planning at GE Energy. Prior to joining GE, Mr. Owens was Director of Global Power at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). While at CERA, Brandon led a major study on clean energy technologies and directed the quantitative modeling effort for CERA’s Global and North American scenarios forums. Earlier in his career, he has served as Senior Researcher for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he helped the U.S. Department of Energy design, develop, and implement a research and development portfolio management system. His work has appeared in Public Utilities Fortnightly, Energy Policy, Research Evaluation, and other publications. Mr. Owens holds a BA with honors from the University of Colorado, and an MS from the Colorado School of Mines.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D – Nev.

Growing up in the small town of Searchlight, Nevada, is where Harry Reid learned important values like hard work, the importance of community strength, and western independence. Reid’s upbringing was a modest one. He attended a one-room schoolhouse where the same teacher taught all eight grades. His father was a hardrock miner and his mother took in laundry. Searchlight is where he learned that with determination, anything is possible.

Reid has earned the respect of colleagues from both parties. He’s a consensus builder and a congenial leader whose reasoned, balanced approach to legislation ensures the Senate produces results for Nevada and the nation.

This summer Reid led the Senate to pass H.R. 6, Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007. This bill starts America on a path toward reducing our reliance on oil by increasing the nation’s use of renewable fuels and, for the first time in decades, significantly improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks. The passage of this bill is a victory for Nevada and the nation.

Senator Reid is working to obtain federal funding to boost Nevada’s renewable energy industry to expand the state’s economy and create thousands of good-paying jobs. He is pushing to create tax incentives for companies that invest in developing clean energy. Reid is also working on federal financing to build new transmission lines to remote areas of Nevada and the nation where renewable energy resources are often in the greatest supply.

He is a tireless worker, and it isn’t unusual for him to be the first Senator of either party to arrive at the Capitol in the morning and the last to go home at night. But despite the demands of his career, Reid’s family and his Nevada roots have always been a top priority. Today, he and his wife Landra are the proud parents of five adult children and 16 grandchildren, and they still call Searchlight home.
Minnesota Governor, Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty was first elected governor in 2002, with the state facing a $4.5 billion budget deficit—the largest in state history. Just months after Pawlenty took office, the legislature adopted his plan to eliminate the deficit without raising taxes. In 2005, Governor Pawlenty balanced the state budget again without raising taxes. At the end of 2006, it was announced that under Pawlenty’s leadership, Minnesota’s $4.5 billion deficit had been transformed into a $2.2 billion surplus.

Besides bringing Minnesota from historic budget crisis to financial security, Pawlenty fought for and oversaw passage of a dramatic overhaul and improvement of the state's education standards; an $800 million increase in K-12 education spending along with a nation-leading teacher performance pay program; health care reforms that led to a zero percent premium increase in the state insurance program; significant welfare reform; tort liability reform; a range of new government efficiency initiatives; the creation of a nation-leading prescription drug website; and a doubling of the state's ethanol standard to increase use of renewable fuels and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Pawlenty grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota. The only child in his family to graduate from college, he attended the University of Minnesota and practiced law in the private sector. His public service career includes serving as a criminal prosecutor, Eagan City Councilmember, and ten-year member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, including four years as House Majority Leader.

Pawlenty serves as Chair of the National Governors Association and on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, the Achieve Inc. Board of Directors, and the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute Board of Directors. He is Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association and is a former chair of the Governors Ethanol Coalition.

Pawlenty and his wife Mary have two daughters.