Conference Agenda

Join your fellow attendees at the Climate Beacon Lounge at the New England Aquarium for a casual pre-event get together. Registration desk will be open to assist with any schedule questions too.

Building a Better World: How Climate Action Creates Opportunity

Join us for the opening session of the 2023 Climate Beacon Conference! Hosted by Conference President Mary Skelton Roberts, with remarks from U.S. Senator Edward Markey and New England Aquarium President Vikki Spruill, and a discussion with Senator Markey, Ceres CEO & President Mindy Lubber, and others. 

This session sets the table for the conversations to follow!

 

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Solution Sessions on Day 1 will offer attendees the opportunity to dive deeper on topics essential to our clean energy transition. Attendees will be able to opt into multiple sessions, each designed to highlight successes, clarify challenges, and foster dialogue on solutions for achieving collective goals.

Sessions will be broken into two blocks and will be announced by September 18th. All attendees will have the opportunity to refine their regristration to attend as many sessions as they can.

Sessions will include:

Can Geothermal Work in Massachusetts?

- Is network geothermal a scalable solution for our clean energy needs? In Framingham, MA, they aim to find out. Take a deep dive with the companies, organizations, and individuals leading this first-of-its-kind project to learn how it came to be, what's coming next, and how it might scale across the Commonwealth.

Redesigning Permitting and Siting for an Equitable Transition

- Join the MIT Renewable Energy Clinic and community leaders to discuss how we can integrate research, data, and on-the-ground experience to rethink and reimagine permitting and siting. An honest conversation about what works, what doesn't, and how we can achieve multiple, positive outcomes. 

Scaling Offshore Wind for Our Future

- Cranes and barges are in the water for Vineyard Wind 1 and South Fork. But how do we make sure this is the first and not the last offshore wind project? Join industry experts and community leaders to understand how we can scale faster and accelerate development. 

A second round of Solutions Session will build on themes from earlier in the day and include:

Workshopping the Workforce of Tomorrow

- Work with workforce, academic, and community leaders to map out the programs and training needed to create a future workforce that will bring more economic opportunity to all communities.

Game Theory for Better Permitting and Siting

- Expand your understanding of varied opinions and your negotiating skills by adopting a role and participating in a two-hour game theory clinic led by the MIT Renewable Energy Clinic. 

Transforming Our Grid for Our Future Needs 

- We'll explore the gap between the grid we have today and the grid we will need tomorrow. We will join industry leaders to focus on how transmission and storage are key to reliabitlity as we navigate our energy transition. 

Myrtle, the green sea turtle, might be 90 years old, but that's not stopping her from joining you and your fellow attendees for a special reception inside the New England Aquarium. This will be the best way for you to keep your important discussions going, while listening to keynote remarks by local leaders and enjoyoing appetizers and an open bar.