Aspen, CO…The 15th annual American Renewable Energy Day Summit (AREDAY) starts Monday morning, June 18, in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Parent company, American Renewable Energy Institute (AREI), will host its annual AREDAY Summit speaker series, plus AREDAY ELECTRIC, Eco Expo and IMPACT FILM June 18-23, 2018, in partnership with the Snowmass Village resort. Some of the nation’s top environmental, economic and political leaders will join the nation’s best climate experts for a series of armchair conversations, panel discussions and enlightened dialogue.

“This speaker series is one of the largest in-person brain trusts of the global renewable energy industry, attracting climate change decision-makers, change agents and thought leaders,” says AREDAY founder and AREI Chairman and CEO Chip Comins. This year, the AREDAY Summit will feature 176 diverse speakers who will participate in over 89 dynamic panel discussions, armchair conversations, and keynote addresses plus top-level networking events. Such vital topics as climate science, renewable energy and innovative technology, policymaking, entrepreneurship and venture capital investment will be explored. The complete list of themes, speakers and topics is available at AREDAY agenda.

This year’s theme is “Global Security, Conservation Capitalism & Regeneration: Whole Systems Solutions to Climate Change.” One of the world’s trending opportunities for disruptive innovation will be front and center with an entire evening devoted to the power and impact of BlockChain technology. According to Comins, “We’re presenting a discussion of this breakthrough technology with some experts in the field because of its relevance to renewable energy. Large, multi-national corporations are using the digital transactional tracking of BlockChain technology. For example, Siemans is using the BlockChain to build a utility in Brooklyn.

Tuesday night, the Summit embarks on in-depth discussions of the innovative BlockChain technology as related to the future of economic and climate security. Tickets for Tuesday night are available to the public at the door for $100. Topics include Real Life Business Applications and the Impact and Power of BlockChain with speakers from Swytch, GenesysOne Capital, ImpactX, Hut 8 Mining, Terra Genesis International, Symbol Network and Climate Coin Foundation.

One of the BlockChain speakers, Veronica Garcia, is making great strides in third world countries through her firm, BitLumins, which distributes solar power devices to rural villages in Guatemala without a power-grid and connects them to the BlockChain, helping to alleviate poverty. Garcia’s keynote address on “Cryptocurrencies in Latin America for Solar MicroGrid” will be at 9:45am Wednesday.
This is the first time that the public has been invited to join the Summit for these dynamic evenings of programming. Monday night will feature a clean tax update by Rod Richardson with the Grace Richardson Fund, followed by an armchair conversation with Patrick Furlotti from Projects for Good and Global Mana. At 8pm, two short films, Carbon Negative and Carbon Paradox, will be followed by a feature documentary from director and filmmaker Kate Brooks who is traveling from England to screen her new film, “The Last Animals,” shot in Africa. Tickets are available at the door for $25.

Another powerful evening session is Wednesday night, also available to the general public for $25. Under the theme, “We Shall Overcome: Where Can the Racial Justice and Climate Justice Movements Meet?,” civil rights leader Rev. Gerald Durley and Hawk Newsome from Black Lives Matter NYC, will engage in a provocative conversation that joins the civil rights movement of the ‘60s with today’s movement. A screening of James Balog’s new film, “The Human Element” will follow the discussion. He previously produced the award-winning film, “Chasing Ice”.

Each morning and afternoon of the Summit features a different theme. Here are a few highlights:
Ocean Elders Dr. Sylvia Earle and Jean-Michel Cousteau explore what’s on the horizon for the oceans. Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, discusses the battle to save the whales from illegal hunting. Jean-Michel Cousteau, with Ocean Futures Society, talks about hope through the generations. There are also dynamic, high-level financial panels; a panel discussion by women from all over the world headed by the former UN Ambassador from New Zealand; a discussion that embraces the evolution of technology & ethics; Vance Martin from Nature Needs Half; and Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa and former Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama Administration, on Food, Water and Energy.

In addition to the Speaker series, AREI will simultaneously feature four trademark events designed to motivate the community to engage in climate change issues. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 21-23, the public is invited to participate in these free events hosted by AREI on the Snowmass mall:

1. AREDAY ELECTRIC: – Mountain Chevy, Glenwood Audi, Nissan and BMW from Denver will showcase electric and plug-in hybrids for the public to test drive, highlighting the transition from combustion to electric motors.
2. Renewable Energy & Eco Expo: Showcasing sustainable initiatives, energy advances, eco-friendly products, workshops, guest speakers, music, local food, brews and spirits. The public can enjoy live music during the Expo, performed by several local musicians, include Valle Musico from 3-6pm on Friday, Suzanne Paris from 3-6pm both Friday and Saturday and Dan Sheridan from 12-3pm on Friday.
3. AREDAY/Snowmass Concert on Fanny Hill: Brothers Keeper with Jeff Pevar preceded by a presentation featuring special guest, Mike Phillips from the Turner Endangered Species Fund, and Shaya, a wolf from the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center.
4. The solutions-oriented film festival, IMPACT FILM takes place Friday and Saturday at Snowmass Town Hall at no charge. Fifteen films will be shown from 10am to 5pm each day.

The Summit will take place at the LEED Gold-Certified Viceroy Snowmass Luxury Mountain Resort. It will be live-streamed. Onsite attendance is limited to 300. The event has a limited number day passes available – locals–$350 and non-locals–$400/week. According to Summit producers, this creates an intentional atmosphere of comfort and intimacy, designed to foster deep immersion, thereby encouraging AREI’s trademark ability to drive collaboration and strategic partnerships among thought leaders.

Comins says, “There is a multitude of critical issues reaching a tipping point that require the ramping up of action and innovation at the local, regional, national and international levels.” AREI executives and staff believe that the keys to solving our world’s most pressing challenges can be found across various sectors and disciplines.

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About AREDAY – AREDAY includes a series of five events: the AREDAY SUMMIT, AREDAY ELECTRIC, AREDAY EXPO, IMPACT FILM, and the SNOWMASS/AREDAY Concert. The AREDAY SUMMIT is a program of the American Renewable Energy Institute (AREI). The SUMMIT includes a multi-day speaker series, which offers attendees the opportunity to engage with clean energy world leaders from the public and private sectors, including the fields of finance, politics, solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal and leading-edge energy technologies. Participants have included the Prime Minister of Australia and Presidents of Iceland and the U.S.

Media Contacts: `
Jeanette Darnauer: Darnauer Group Communications
970-379-5746/jeanette@darnauer.com
Chip Comins: AREI/chip@areinstitute.net/970-948-9929