The US Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy last week were out promoting the upcoming Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis.

USDA Radio News reporter Rod Bain did several stories with Secretaries Mike Johanns and Sam Bodman you can listen to here:

Energy Conference Story 1 (1 min MP3)
Energy Conference Story 2 (1 min MP3)
Energy Conference Story 3 (1 min MP3)
Energy Conference Story 4 (1 min MP3)

Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance will be held October 10-12 at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Besides the two secretaries, featured speakers at the event will include:

Red Cavaney-President and Chief Executive Officer, American Petroleum Institute
Keith Collins-Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Thomas Dorr-Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Charles Holliday-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dupont
Alexander Karsner-Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
Vinod Khosla-Founder of Khosla Ventures, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems, and Former Partner of Kleimer, Perkins, Kaufield & Byers, a venture capital firm
Robert W. Lane-Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Deere and Company
Raymond L. Orbach-Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy
Patricia A Woertz-President, Chief Executive Officer, Archer Daniels Midland Company

Goals for the conference are to identify major impediments, review challenges and make recommendations to help accelerate renewable energy technology development, examine key incentives that would help promote certainty and reduce risk for investors and developers in the marketplace, review challenges of developing new distribution systems, raise public awareness and team to ensure Advancement in Renewable Energy.

Government registration fee is $495 per person, if registering online before October 1, 2006. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for renewable energy industry partners. See the website for more info.