Speaker no stranger to solar power
Saturday’s e-conference keynote speaker will be Walter Wood, president of the Missouri Energy Develop-ment Asso-ciation.
Wood was raised in a passive solar home that his father, an engineer, designed. Piping carried heat from sunny rooms to those in the shade.
On cloudy days a wood-burning stove supplemented solar energy.
“The passive solar worked extremely well,” Wood said. “It was just an extra efficient home.
“My dad was ahead of the curve.”
Wood went into engineering with a focus on structural engineering and a mechanical background. For years, he worked with energy-related projects – coal, nuclear and hydro-electric – in the United States and overseas. He later served eight years at the Missouri Public Service Commission and now he works in the energy sector focusing on electric, water and gas.
In the last 10 to 15 years, Wood said, he has seen a lot of alternative energy development.
“My focus for Saturday morning is going to be Missouri’s energy future,” he said.
He will focus on electricity and how to balance supplying electricity and the demands of people, prosperity and the planet.
Wind and solar are both variable resources. Americans expect power 24-7, Wood said, but sometimes the wind does not blow and the sun is not shining and storage technology is still expensive. He will talk about balancing clean energy while supporting prosperity and attracting industry.
“We’re going to talk about where we are now, what the big challenges going forward are going to be … and what consumers can do,” Wood said.
The issue of energy is becoming a political hot potato in this election year and Wood said he will keep time open for questions at the end.
As a non-partisan voice he hopes to answer questions about energy and its global affects.
“There’s a lot of monologuing out there and we’re just not having a good discussion,” he said.
Exhibits at Saturday’s e-conference open at 8 a.m. at the Arnold Farber Building on Crowder College’s Neosho campus. Saturday is free and open to the public.
Wood will open the conference at 9 a.m. and breakout sessions Saturday morning will discuss Crowder’s alternative energy programs, energy efficient building design, recycling and land management, wind power, ethanol, green construction and renewable energies.
-Amye Buckley
