ESCANABA — The third in a series of six webinars organized as the U.P. Clean Energy Conference will be held Friday, February 12, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom. The sonference objective is to anticipate and leverage recommendations from the U.P. Energy Task Force report due next month as a catalyst for a more self-reliant, sustainable and affordable U.P. energy future.

The February 12 event will feature two panel sessions, leading off with a discussion on propane delivery options for the U.P. in light of the Task Force’s April 2020 Phase 1 report on that subject. Featured panelists include Liesl Clark, U.P. Energy Task Force chair and director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy [EGLE], Kristopher Bowman, Task Force member and owner of Bowman Propane, and Dan Harrington, owner of U.P. Propane.

The second session will focus on financial tools that U.P. residents, businesses and governmental units can use to fund energy upgrades and investments. Elise Matz from Lean & Green Michigan, Todd O’Grady from Michigan Saves and UPPCO’s Andrew McNeally will review a range of funding mechanisms that could bring millions of dollars in public-private partnership investment for energy projects in the U.P.

Michigan Technological University is hosting the Zoom event and is among a dozen U.P.-based organizations sponsoring the webinar series, including, SWP, Northern Michigan University, Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan Energy Options, and all three U.P. regional planning agencies.

The next two conference webinars will be held on March 12 and April 16. A date for a final webinar in May is to be determined. Register at https://www.upcleanenergy.org