Politicians, agency leaders and energy industry executives gathered in Oklahoma City Thursday for the Governor’s Energy Conference.
The annual event is largely promotional, but it also serves as a preview of the biggest energy policy topics for the coming year.
There were presentations on new technology that generates energy from trash, optimistic presentations on jobs and Oklahoma’s oil and gas boom, and discussions about wind turbines and crude exports.
In her opening remarks, Gov. Mary Fallin also touched on some of the challenges facing the industry, including drought and earthquakes.
“We want to be able to know what the facts are, what the science is, and bring the experts together, because we’re talking about people’s homes and business that have been shaken,” Fallin said.
The governor used the conference to announce the creation of a new Council on Seismic Activity to study Oklahoma’s earthquakes, which research has linked to wastewater wells used by the oil and gas industry.
It will be headed by the state’s Secretary of Energy and Environment Michael Teague, and include input from research groups, the public sector, and state lawmakers.
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