Energy conference coming

If the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan leadership organization, is going to have a conference to talk energy, then it makes sense to do it in the Permian Basin.

Among the topics for a series of roundtable discussions Saturday in Midland are fuel solutions and challenges, which includes talk on clean coal, nuclear and wind energy, the state’s electricity market and what’s on the horizon for technology.

“Really, it’s an all encompassing conversation about where energy is today and how it all interconnects,” said Phil Wilson, the conference’s chairman.

Texas Lyceum holds quarterly meetings on different policy issues around the state, said Aimee Boone, one of the group’s directors. Past meetings have discussed health care and the effects of the federal stimulus package on the state.

The statewide group is made up of 96 men and women who are Democrats, Republicans and Independents, Boone said.

The group came up with the idea for to devote a conference to energy last year, well before British Petroleum’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But Boone said that disaster has made energy issues even more pertinent.

“The broader focus is what does energy independence mean for Texas?” she said. “Is that possible? Is that desirable?”

While Saturday’s events will be closed to the public, tickets are available for a discussion Friday at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin Center for Energy and Economic Diversification. Dubbed “The Great Debate,” participants will include Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and former State Rep. Paul Sadler, now the executive director of the Wind Coalition.

The debate will be broadcast on PBS stations across the state. Wilson said the Lyceum’s previous two debates were also televised.

The last time Texas Lyceum held a conference in Midland was in 2007, when the forum related to racial issues in the state. Boone said debate was thorough and sometimes heated.

“That’s one of the great things about the Lyceum … we always have very robust discussions,” she said.

The Lyceum’s president for the current year is Midland City Councilman John James. Wilson said James’ position and the area’s status in oil and gas and other energy fields made it a natural to host the event.

“Energy really is the lifeblood of our economy,” he said. “In the Permian Basin, you realize that better than anybody else.”

IF YOU GO

>> What: The Great Debate — Is Energy Independence Needed and is it a Good Thing?

>> When: 2:30-4:30 p.m. Aug. 6.

>> Where: University of Texas of the Permian Basin Center for Energy an Economic Diversification, 1400 N. FM 1788, Midland.

>> Tickets: $20 each.

>> Call: 713-521-1882.