A Summary of New York Energy Week: One Decade Later

I was fortunate to have attended one of the first New York Energy Week (NYEW) convenings after moving from Boston to the New York area in 2013. Fresh off of an immersive assignment working for a major electric and gas utility company in New England, the programming presented by the organizers and sponsors hit all the high notes for me: resilience, climate change and women in energy.

Fast forward one decade and a pandemic later, New York Energy Week is still convening thought leaders around important topics and it is interesting to observe what has changed and what remains the same. Programming is now hybrid like many of our workplaces, and though I was unable to participate in the in-person events that bookended the conference, the virtual speakers still provided insightful content.

As evidenced by the heat dome in the southwest and the Canadian wildfires impacting the midwestern and northeastern U.S., climate change remains front and center for companies in energy and adjacent industries. Roberta Boscolo, climate and energy leader at the World Meteorological Organization, shared valuable, data-driven insights about the state of our air and water quality and our rising temperatures. It was an important reminder that quantifying statements and high-impact visuals in our data-driven world will go a long way toward spurring behavior change among stakeholder groups and consumers.

I also had an opportunity to hear from the executive director of the Electrification Coalition, Ben Prochazka. Ben walked participants through the early successes in transportation electrification and why it can be important for energy independence. As we all see the growing fleets of Amazon delivery trucks on the roads and Prologis warehouses off exit ramps, it’s clear that shoppers continue to want immediate access to consumer goods. To meet consumers where they are and still fulfill climate change imperatives, organizations like the Electrification Coalition provide a forum for corporate entities to achieve progress.

Above all, I was reminded that the energy sector continues to be a dynamic place to do business. It continues to grow and expand as adjacent disciplines realize their potential role in energy independence. While a lot has changed in the last decade, it is clear that there is still room for corporate innovators, policymakers and non-governmental organizations to advance important issues at the intersection of energy, innovation and climate. I’m looking forward to hearing more from NYEW in 2024!