Peter Gardett is the Founding Editor at Breaking Energy, with a decade of experience covering all areas of energy industry. He also serves as the strategic communications advisor to New York Energy Week.
Mei Poon: What are your expectations or vision for New York Energy Week five years from now?
Peter Gardett: If the first New York Energy Week was about identifying all those people who contribute leadership in the energy sector as a single community, and this year is about surfacing the priorities of that community and finding out what issues and projects are really important to them, my hope for the New York Energy Week community in five years is that it is a fully formed constituency, a contemporary and fluid organization with a year-round life that is constantly a leading component and source of information in any narrative about energy. I hope to see it grow further from its great start to something the whole city can be involved in and – leveraging New York’s position as a global city – something decision makers around the world can be involved in.
MP: What are you most excited about for New York Energy Week 2014?
PG: I think that we’re finally starting to see real confidence return in New York beyond the realms of Wall Street and real estate, which are so important both to energy and to New York but have completely dominated the headlines in the past decade. I think we are seeing really important technology firms take hold in New York, a vibrant start-up community, a revivified academic community and a resurgence in the kind of media and communications work that New York companies have been global leaders in for so long. How that new confidence plays out in supporting new connections and triggers new deals is what I’m really looking forward to about NYEW 2014.
MP: What is your favorite invention/ technology in Energy sector?
PG: I think the internet of things and the whole mobile data collection space is probably the biggest technology shift for the energy sector, but if I had to choose a real favorite it would be the electric car. I have been surprised by the extent of progress in the technology in recent years, and I think electrification of all kinds of transport has the potential to change an enormous amount for the economy, in climate change approaches, and in all kinds of associated processes and technologies. Its been a long time since General Motors and the car industry generally were innovators in America, but their scale of operations and scale of impact remain opportunities for electrification as much as they can be challenges to swift change.
MP: What is one opportunity/ challenge you hope will be addressed during New York Energy Week 2014?
PG: It is a controversial subject, but I think a deeper understanding of the tradeoffs that come with hydraulic fracturing is needed in order to have a sensible discussion about New York’s energy future. By choosing to refuse to countenance natural gas development in New York, but refusing at the same time to acknowledge the impacts on our state and regional energy markets, we’re letting other states and the federal government make decisions for us. I think a more nuanced and detailed discussion of what the natural gas revolution means for New York is an inevitable component of New York Energy Week 2014, and I hope we can keep it vibrant, informative and reasonably polite.
MP: What is your favorite New York City landmark?
PG: I live in Brooklyn Heights, and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade (a creation of Robert Moses, for all the other less-beneficial things he did for New York City) is one of my favorite places on earth.
MP: Personal Fun Fact: What is something people might not know about you?
PG: As a child, I sang at the inauguration of George HW Bush (number 41, as people now refer to him). Its a long story.
