PACE to Host Energy Tour

For policy makers, seeing infrastructure up close can be critical to a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the energy sector. That was the thinking that led PACE to create the Alabama Energy Tour back in 2012. And that is the reason the not-for-profit organization continues to host the event on a bi-annual basis.

Energy Tour Participants in 2014

On Friday, October 21st, PACE will host a group of twenty policy makers and thought leaders for a two-day tour of infrastructure related to energy production and consumption. PACE held similar events in November of 2012 and October of 2014. This year’s tour will include, as in past years, an up-close look at coal production with a trip underground to a mine that produces high-grade metallurgical coal; a cruise on a coal barge down the Black Warrior River; and a chance to discuss energy research with faculty and students at the University of Alabama.

In addition to those activities, PACE will join with the newly created Energy Institute of Alabama to host a tour of two other facilities on Thursday, October 20th. On that day, the tour group, as well as a number of Alabama legislators, will tour one of Alabama’s largest energy production facilities and a state-of-the-art steel production plant. Those tours will help show the connection between electricity supply and demand.

“While it is important for PACE to offer policy makers guidance and perspective on energy issues through our publications, it is also important that we go beyond that to give them a look at where the rubber meets the road on energy,” says PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “The Energy Tour was born out of a disconnect between energy policy and energy reality. Hopefully, this event brings into focus the real-life issues that define our energy future.”

Attendees of the event come from a variety of backgrounds and include elected officials, congressional staff, energy regulators, members of the media, trade group representatives, and other thought leaders. The event comes at no cost to participants.

“We see the Energy Tour as an indispensable tool in PACE’s ongoing efforts to connect energy policy discussions with the realities on the ground,” explains Board Chairman Cline Jones. “In this our third year of hosting the event, we look forward to making an even bigger impact on the conversation about American energy.”