Energy

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources sponsored- technology conference wrapping up

The annual Industrial Energy Technology Conference, put on by Texas A&M University’s Energy Systems Laboratory and sponsored in part by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, has wrapped up the major portion of its annual meeting.

The 2009 conference was the 30th meeting of the IETC, focusing on industrial energy and waste reduction, which shifted from Houston to New Orleans in 2005 and been held in Louisiana ever since.

The conference is sponsored by DNR, Texas A&M’s Energy Systems Laboratory, the Texas State Energy Conservation Office and the U.S. Department of Energy.

State Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle said that Louisiana is proud to play host to the annual conference.

“With our robust industrial sector and a proud history of providing the energy that fuels this nation, Louisiana is certainly an appropriate setting for the conference,” Angelle said. “We are also appreciative of the opportunity to work with our neighbors in the great state of Texas in hosting conferences on such an important subject.”

Louisiana DNR Deputy Secretary Lori LeBlanc was the keynote speaker for the 2009 conference, discussing the role DNR plays in the state and the role the state plays in fueling the nation.

“Louisiana is an energy intensive state,” she said. “We produce much of the energy our nation uses and we are also a large consumer of energy in the work of providing our country with chemicals and fuel products.”

LeBlanc noted that, through responsible management of resources, Louisiana produces the energy to fuel the U.S. while offering the hunting, fishing and ecotourism that makes the state the Sportsman’s Paradise.

“We have come to expect and enjoy a strong economy, but also expect that the air we breathe is clean, the water we drink is pure and the land we live on is sustainable,” she said.

DNR supports the energy efficiency efforts in industry through participation in programs such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Save Energy Now” initiative and sponsorship of the IETC.