Security has been really tight here for the Renewable Energy Conference, especially for speakers and media. They won’t let anyone through this restricted area unless they have a media badge and only staff are permitted to escort any other attendees to the media room for interviews. There were about 100 media registered for the conference itself, and several more local and national reporters are coming in today just for the president. This has gotten amazing coverage.

The registration fee for this event was pretty high – about $500 per person – but I can tell you it has been very well done. Not overdone, just well done. Okay, maybe the press security is a bit overdone, and the head-banging heavy metal transition music between speakers is annoying – but I have heard nothing but positive comments about the value of this conference to both attendees and the media. As several people noted, even a year ago an event like this would have barely gotten half the attendance and coverage it has recieved. And the main reason for the increased interest will be here today to repeat the line that set this industry on fire less than ten months ago – “America is addicted to oil.” I guess you could call this event group therapy to cure that addiction.