Clean energy summit again headed to Vegas

For the fourth straight year, Las Vegas will host the National Clean Energy Summit.
The confab is scheduled for Aug. 30 at Aria, and its theme will be "the future of energy."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., started the annual summit in 2008 to bring together business leaders and government policymakers to share thoughts on how to advance the green-energy economy.
Speakers scheduled to attend this year's event include Reid, Gov. Brian Sandoval, MGM Resorts International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, California Gov. Jerry Brown, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
The summit is still adding speakers. Past attendees have included former Vice President Al Gore, former President Bill Clinton and oilman T. Boone Pickens.
Reid said in a statement that bringing energy leaders to the Silver State would showcase local green-power potential.
"Nevada is proud to host the fourth annual National Clean Energy Summit, an important opportunity for national and state leaders to see firsthand how Nevada is a leader in building a 21st century clean-energy future that can be emulated across the country," Reid said. "By capitalizing on our state's vast renewable resources like wind, solar and geothermal energy, we are creating good-paying jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, lowering energy costs for consumers and diversifying our economy to promote growth."
The summit will include three panel discussions on topics vital to the development of renewables, including the future of renewable energy for consumers, plans to generate and transmit green power across the West and energy independence.
The summit is cosponsored by Reid, the Center for American Progress, the Clean Energy Project, MGM Resorts International and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.