EngEx

Press Release: Professionals in the energy, water, transportation and environmental industries will learn how to leverage innovative business opportunities for both personal and professional growth at EngEx 2010 Conference and Exhibition, which begins July 29 at the San Diego Convention Center and features three full days of workshops, special issue meetings and keynote addresses.

Top-Notch Experts to Provide Informative Keynote Sessions 

President of Shell Energy North America, Mark Quartermain, will speak in a special keynote session covering “Counting Carbon” and address how emissions trading can provide companies with a way to reduce their carbon footprint as industries shift toward a low-emission economy. "Shell is at the forefront of the energy challenge of keeping a delicate balance between our need for energy and transportation fuels along with concern for the environment," said Kausain Shaikh, Founder of EngEx 2010. “His address will be highly relevant in today’s world, where many businesses are faced with one of the most complex issues facing our world for the next century." 

A second special keynote session will feature Will Coleman, a partner at Mohn Davidow Venture (MDV), who will present “CleanTech: Vision and Direction of the 21st Century,” focused on the increased interest and investments venture capital firms are making into Cleantech start-ups. “Clean energy business owners and industry professionals will learn more about how to benefit from investor confidence in renewable energy,” Shaikh said. 

Business-Building Workshops 

Thanks to a partnership with the World Trade Center San Diego, EngEx 2010 will also provide attendees with a unique chance to find out how to expand their businesses through new government-sponsored foreign trade and exporting initiatives. 

Attendees will also have access to more than 30 workshops hosted by federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce and learn how to: 

•   Procure part of the $500 billon in government contracts awarded annually 

•   Access some $2.2 billion in government grants given out each year 

•   Lease public lands for oil, gas, wind, solar and geothermal projects through the Bureau of Land Management 

•   Tap into government resources to expand exports and find international buyers 

•   Work with utility companies to commercialize products 

Special Topic Sessions 

As researchers and businesses eagerly seek solutions to create more rain in arid communities, Brian McGurty with Southern California Edison (SCE) will lead a discussion about cloud seeding, a highly controversial topic. While the technology gained international news coverage during the Beijing Olympics, SCE has the oldest program in the world, using advanced techniques to seeds clouds from both the ground and the air. 

Andy Kunz, President and CEO of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, will lead an innovative session on the next generation of U.S. transportation - a high-speed rail system planned for deployment in 2015 and to be completed in twenty years over four phases. The first rapid transit trains running 220-miles-per-hour connecting Northern and Southern California could be complete by 2015. By 2035, the 17,000 miles of track will eventually link major cities from coast-to-coast. 

A plenary session led by Rex Wait, project director for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project (LEAPS), will demonstrate how local disputes can delay approval of an infrastructure project for more than a decade. Wait will share LEAPS’ history and challenges, along with how the hydroelectric plant will provide Southern California with 500 MW of clean, renewable energy to meet the region’s increasing demands. 

Vehicles of the Future 

The EngEx Exhibition Hall will have nine electric vehicles on display from companies such as Electric Vehicles International, Phoenix Motors and Tesla. ECOtality and its subsidiary, eTec (Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation), is invited to share information about The EV Project, created in August 2009 with a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recover and Reinvestment Act. 

The EV Project will deploy 5,000 electric vehicle (EVs) charging stations located in 13 cities located in five states and pave the way for a successful rollout of electric transportation across the country.