The Batavia Environmental Commission (BEC) and city government of Batavia invite the public to attend a virtual event, Batavia’s 12th annual A Green Night Out at the Movies at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Interested persons can go to BEC’s Facebook Page (Facebook.com/BataviaEnvironmentalCommission) to participate in the live event.
This free event will feature the documentary film Current Revolution and a lively discussion about the topic of the movie with our panel of experts afterward.
Our electric grid is aging and fragile as demonstrated by the disaster brought on by storms and cold weather in Texas. The film tackles the challenge of how the utility, auto, tech and defense industries can help modernize the aging power grid to make it more secure and responsive to the needs of its users, while enhancing environmental performance. With a focus on national security, economic prosperity, and environmental justice, the film will show how the Nation can embrace smart policies and investments that support grid modernization through distributed renewable energy generation and the development of an electric vehicle infrastructure.
For decades, the utilities industry has been a driving engine of the U.S. economy, contributing significantly to our progress and standard of living with a business model that focused on centralized generation. But now, because of reduced demand because a number of factors, including more efficient energy systems, power companies face a crisis that requires them to capture new market share to survive in the 21st Century. The film tells the story of a towering American industry on the brink of massive change.
According to BEC Chair Andrew Greenhagen, “The source of our electricity can be a contentious issue in the Fox Valley and how the electric grid functions to deliver our electricity can be a complicated topic. We hope this film and our discussion will help residents understand the changes we need to make to transition to clean, renewable energy.”
After the film we will engage in a community discussion featuring a panel of experts.
Panelists include:
• Gary Holm, City of Batavia, director of Public Works.
• Scott Allen, Citizens Utility Board.
• Jason LaFleur, GTI Energy.
“This film is a great conversation starter about the future of our energy and how what changes we need to make to impact climate change,” states event organizer Carolyn Burnham. “We encourage everyone to use this opportunity to ask questions of our panel of experts.”
—Batavia Environmental Commission (BEC)