On December 5th, 2011, EEM master's students, Josef Antosh, Thomas Mooney and Christopher Watroba, attended the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) 10-Year Anniversary Celebration Dinner held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, adjacent to the GW main campus. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was honored as the Renewable Energy Leader of the Decade and delivered a keynote address calling for an even playing field for renewable energy sources.
Schwarzenegger pointed to federal subsidies as a problem in that the oil and gas industry in its infancy received far more support than renewable energy does today. He said “it must be a national priority to clear the red tape and bureaucracy so that renewable energies can develop by the same rules as oil.”
ACORE also recognized Colorado Senator Mark Udall for exemplary congressional leadership, General Electric's Jeffery Immelt for technology innovation, and Wal-Mart for purchasing renewable energy.
The event, attended by over 300 renewable energy industry leaders and guests, celebrated ACORE's accomplishments in helping to advance the renewable energy industry over the past decade. ACORE works to bring all forms of renewable energy into the mainstream of America's economy and lifestyle.
ACORE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., where several EEM students have served internships in recent years. ACORE boasts member organizations from every aspect and sector of the renewable energy industries and their trade associations, including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and biofuels, hydropower tidal/current energy and waste-to-energy. The coalition, whose membership spans financial institutions, government leaders, educators, end-users, professional service providers and allied non-profit groups, accomplishes much of its work by convening the thought leaders in each of these sectors, publishing collaborative research and facilitating communications among members, their stakeholders and the media. For additional information, visit: www.acore.org