TVA developing plans for 20 small nuclear reactors to power Tennessee Valley by 2050 (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
To decarbonize and electrify America’s economy, the head of the nation’s biggest public power utility thinks several hundred new nuclear reactors may be needed in the next generation, including 20 or so new smaller reactors across the Tennessee Valley.
In a talk to business investors and nuclear power leaders this week, TVA President Jeff Lyash said the utility’s initial efforts to build small modular reactors near Oak Ridge will serve as a model to construct more than a dozen other such reactors in TVA’s seven-state region. The reactors will help provide around-the-clock, carbon-free energy needed to meet TVA’s goal of operating a carbon-free power grid by 2050.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/oct/26/tva-developing-plans-tfp/#/questions
ESG Online Courses Now Open! (Marquette)
| ESG Courses at Marquette University are available for professionals to attend today! New environmental, social, and governance (ESG) courses to serve as preparatory courses for industry-driven certifications for accounting, investment professionals and ESG leaders, offered to professional learners in an asynchronous format, with one course on a hybrid online/live platform. The timeliness of these offerings coincides with the new SEC Climate Disclosure rules. In the U.S., not just public companies will be subject to the SEC requirements; “Scope 2 and 3” reporting will impact thousands of private companies, too, who contribute as suppliers and partners to these companies. Corporations are in a unique position today to elevate ESG practices in partnership with Marquette University. Prepare your organization today for the ESG requirements of tomorrow! Vouchers are included for participants to access the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential™ (FSA I, FSA II teaching to the SASB Standards) by the IFRS Foundation, and the Certificate in ESG Investing by the CFA Institute. |
Greta Thunberg breaks ranks with German Green Party and urges Germany not to shut down nuclear power plants (Fortune)
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has broken ranks with the German Green Party on the subject of atomic energy and urged the government not to abandon the technology.
Marquette Sustainability 2.0 Conference – Registration is Now Open!
Registration is now open for the Marquette Sustainability 2.0 Conference (Oct. 26/27), the Midwest’s destination conference for senior executives and investment professionals! If there were ever a time to hear from experts on the energy transition, both challenges and opportunities, this is the year! Plus we will have dedicated panels on water, DEI, ESG and impact investing and much more!
https://www.marquette.edu/business/companies/sustainability.php
Accelerating the Energy Transition Requires Bridge Building (Pickering Energy Partners)
Key Governance Factors for Higher Education Prove to Be Quantifiable (FGA and Commonfund Institute)
FGA and Commonfund Institute recently announced joint study on governance in higher education, the Commonfund-FGA Benchmarking Study of Governance (CFSG). In this second major phase of research, the group found results that validated and confirmed the findings of the initial five-year study of public pensions at Marquette University. Asset owner governance considerations remain critical for mission development, financial outcomes and addressing complex issues.
https://www.commonfund.org/blog/key-governance-factors-prove-to-be-quantifiable
A mission-driven investment (Marquette Biz)
When Dr. Chris Merker began teaching ESG — Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance — at Marquette in 2009, his classroom was filled with blank stares.
“People didn’t really give it too much thought back then,” Merker says.
By this point, Merker, a director of Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co., had been thinking for years about ESG. The U.S. had recently been through two economic downturns, and Merker had been trying to understand why. When he first heard about ESG, around the time the United Nations founded its Principles for Responsible Investment initiative in 2005, he thought that between a growing list of corporate governance failures and rising stakeholder concerns, perhaps it could offer a window into why the world was struggling.
ESG is far different from traditional accounting. Accounting is typically viewed purely from financial statements — an organization’s value on paper was its true value. But, according to research by Ocean Tomo, over the past 50 years, the market value of companies has become increasingly disconnected from its book value. ESG has fostered new ways to understand factors that don’t show up on a financial statement — including reputation, relationships with employees, and how an organization may have exposures to growing environmental risks.
More than a decade later, Merker says everything has changed. He no longer receives blank stares when discussing ESG, which has morphed into a new language of accounting standards and metrics. This is a language that corporations, investors and students alike are all scrambling to learn.
Marquette Sustainability 2.0 Conference – Keynote Announcement
We are delighted to announce our keynote speakers for the 2022 Marquette Sustainability 2.0 Conference scheduled for October 26-27. We look forward to a special keynote panel discussion on the energy transition and the potential future of nuclear power with leaders from two outstanding organizations.
For further details on the conference:
https://www.marquette.edu/business/companies/sustainability.php
Mr. Dan Pickering, Founder and CIO, Pickering Energy Partners
Dan Pickering is the Chief Investment Officer of Pickering Energy Partners (PEP). PEP manages client assets via energy strategies focused primarily on public markets and private equity. Prior to PEP, Mr. Pickering served as the President of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. and Chief Investment Officer of TPH Investment Management. Dan has spent 26 years as an energy portfolio manager, researcher and analyst, first at Fidelity Investments (where he managed ~$1 billion of energy sector funds), then as Head of Research at Simmons & Company and as the founding partner of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Dan currently serves as the portfolio manager of the PEP Energy Equity Opportunities Fund and on the Investment Committee of PEP’s energy co-investment and private equity strategies. He also serves on the Advisory Board’s for Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, the Energy ESG Council, the Houston CFA Society, as well as the Board of Trustees for Texas Children’s Hospital and the Texas Children’s Hospital Foundation. Dan grew up in Missouri, has a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Brent Ridge, President and CEO, Dairyland Power Cooperative
Prior to Dairyland, Ridge served as Vice President, Corporate Services, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Energy Northwest (Richland, Wash.). His responsibilities included finance, treasury, enterprise risk management, asset management, human resources, supply chain, information services and energy services and development. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Corporate Nuclear Safety Review Board for Columbia Generating Station. Earlier in his career at Energy Northwest, Ridge served as Asset Manager, Controller and Chief Risk Officer. He was also the manager of Construction and Maintenance Services, responsible for power plant modifications, outage and online major maintenance, facilities and commercial engineering. Ridge earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Idaho and an MBA from Regis University (Denver, Colo.). He also completed the Reactor Technology Course for Utility Executives at MIT, the Utility Executive Course at the University of Idaho and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.
We look forward to seeing you in October!
Balancing Energy Needs and Climate Change (WSJ)
The problem extends well beyond crude oil and its derivatives. The price of natural gas has soared, futures for coal delivered to Europe have risen 137% this year, and cash prices for Appalachian coal have more than doubled since last June.
Yet the long-term outlook is more hopeful. The policies we adopt in response to the current price surge can create a more stable energy sector a decade from now. We need something we haven’t had for a long time: a comprehensive energy strategy built on realistic premises about supply, technology and politics.