at the gw moving the planet forward innovation summit on april 17, 2012, admiral mcginn participated in a panel discussing the future of the renewable industry and planet forward was able to catch up him backstage.

admiral mcginn believes that the greatest innovation has been the way that different types of renewable energy are being deployed. he says that the time to move forward in creating a “21st century clean energy portfolio” is now.

today, hefner is founder and ceo of the ghk companies, an oklahoma-based natural gas and oil firm. he has pioneered ultradeep natural gas exploration and led the development of innovative technology necessary to successfully drill and produce the world’s deepest and highest pressure natural gas wells.

hefner caught up with planet forward backstage at the gw moving the planet forward innovation summit on april 17, 2012. he believes that the greatest innovation has been in the natural gas industry. he says, “it’s allowed this country to become super abundant, actually drowning, in natural gas.”

moderator: frank sesno, founder and host, planet forward
vincent gray, mayor, washington, d.c.
mark mallory, mayor, cincinnati, oh
tommy battle, mayor, huntsville, al
steven knapp, president, the george washington university
melissa keeley, assistant professor of geography, the george washington university

one solution he highlights is a process called “continuous commissioning,” or processes that help building managers run systems at peak efficiency. the primary goal is to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, but it also provides data that’s useful in managing the business.

in the building is a system that gathers hundreds of data points hourly, or even more frequently, and transmits them to a central server. data analysis software performs fault detection and diagnostics, sometimes alerting facility managers to hidden problems that waste energy and compromise occupant comfort.

for example, air handling units can get stuck in a mode where they’re heating and cooling simultaneously. correcting that would immediately reduce energy waste, sometimes dramatically. longer term, it reduces wear and maintenance on expensive mechanical equipment.

continuous commissioning goes by many names, like monitoring-based, or data-based commissioning, or just ongoing energy monitoring. by any name, it’s a real energy saver.

this clip was recorded after davor appeared on a panel the business response conference 3.0. the event was put on by the gw energy group and net impact, which are business-focused student organizations at george washington university.