A great dialogue was recently held on the future of clean energy and how this future will impact New Jersey’s business growth. As the moderator of the panel discussion, I found this conference somewhat unique for two reasons:

1. We were participating in a conference at a manufacturing plant that builds solar panels in the United States.

2. We were exposed to a wide range of perspectives…from the U.S. Chamber’s government is bad perspective to the need for all energy sources as presented by PSE&G.

My premise to the panel and the audience was a simple one with regard to business growth. Adapt or die.

Those that believe we should continue to subsidize 19^th century energy sources with federal and state tax dollars are doomed to become extinct. Extinction isn’t all bad.

Unfortunately, from a business perspective, this position has the risk of taking the rest of our economy down with it.

I was most interested in the near unanimous support from the business community recognizing the value of energy conservation within the clean energy mix. This support included the view that conservation of energy can foster economic growth and job creation.

The key is to foster energy security and job growth by looking forward at clean energy and the cleanest energy is the energy that we do not use.