Agenda
2009 Conference Sponsors

Southern Energy
Abundant, Affordable, and American
Biloxi, Mississippi

The 2009 Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB) annual meeting was held on June 8-9 at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, MS. Current SGPB Chair Governor Haley Barbour presided over the meeting. The conference focused on the issue of energy-related economic development and the culmination of a year-long series of activities around the theme Southern Energy. These activities included community forums, state events, an online survey, the publication of a regional asset map on bioenergy and recommendations from The Southern Common Market on Alternative Fuels.

Joining T. Boone Pickens at the Southern Energy Conference was Dan DiMicco, CEO of Nucor Steel; Warren Erdman, Kansas City Southern; Jim Turner, President and COO, Duke Energy; and Margo Thorning, an internationally recognized expert on tax, environmental, and competitiveness issues who formerly served at the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy and the Federal Trade Commission. They were joined by a distinguished group of speakers covering the present state of Southern Energy: Abundant, Affordable, and American. View the complete roster of speakers.

For the next generation, a healthy economy and national security will depend heavily on our nation's current energy decisions. The Southern Energy Conference has a vision of the future where energy is Abundant, Affordable, and American. A larger, more diverse energy production and portfolio will drive this vision through more supply and price stability. To make this happen, an "all of the above" approach to energy production must be adopted—as new technologies become economical, and existing technologies improve, policies should support the utilization of as many competitive sources as possible. The technologies themselves represent new products that not only help with energy challenges, but also help the bottom line of American companies.

For more information, contact Scott Doron, director of the Southern Technology Council, at sdoron@southern.org.