Dana Palmer, senior counsel in the firm’s Los Angeles office, moderated a panel at California’s annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite on October 21. His session, “Strategic Planning for Renewable Energy: The Big Picture,” focused on California and the West’s energy and climate objectives including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the increased deployment of renewable energy. The panel provided an overview of renewable energy planning efforts underway at the local, state, regional, and federal levels, and featured the Chief Counsel of the California Energy Commission. Other conference attendees included White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, who delivered the keynote address on October 22, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Jon Wellinghoff, who addressed incentives for renewable energy development on October 23.
The Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite is the largest gathering in California of leaders in environmental, land use, and natural resources law. The conference was awarded the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources 2010 State or Local Program of the Year.