The SMU Cox Maguire Energy Institute will host an energy symposium Wednesday and Thursday as part of a collaboration with the George W. Bush Presidential Center. "Energy Outlook '23" will look at the future of the energy industry.
Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute, says North Texas' economy has become more diverse, but energy is a topic that affects a broad range of businesses.
"We still have energy companies here, we have finance companies here that lend to energy, but we also have Toyota here. We have two major airlines here that are significantly impacted by fuel prices," he says.
The conference is by-invitation-only, but Bullock says the event brings together consumer groups, companies, producers and banks that finance their operations.
"Producers are good at talking to themselves, consumers are good at talking to themselves, the finance people are good at talking to themselves, but we're not good at talking to each other," he says.
Bullock says, by bringing each group together, they can hear about challenges they face individually and start discussing how they might work together toward potential solutions.
"Hopefully, coming out of this, we'll have three or four things that are actionable, that we can at least get started on, if you will, either from a policy perspective or from a 'further discussion' perspective," he says.
Among panel discussions are "The Future of LNG, Energy Commodity Spotlight" and "The New Nuclear Leadership Dialogue."
"Grid Reliability in the Age of Renewables" will cover the blackouts in 2021.
"Has anything changed or has Texas just been lucky? How did this impact the energy industry, not just Texas? How do renewables factor into the grid?" a rundown for the panel reads.
Bullock says the conference can help different groups see different perspectives to address changing needs in energy and work toward additional energy options.
"We know consumers want more sustainable sources of energy. They want lower-carbon sources of energy," Bullock says. "At the same time, they want affordable energy."
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