Susan Jablonski, P.E. – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

On October 24th, The Environmental Partnership hosted its 2019 Annual Conference, entitled “The Field of the Future,” advancing one of the program’s goals of fostering collaboration among industry stakeholders. This year the program focused on the organizations that are creating and implementing cutting-edge technologies to further detect and reduce the industry’s environmental footprint.

Attendees learned about the latest detection efforts being used by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to help reduce fugitive emissions, such as flyover and mobile sensing technologies. Jill Engel-Cox, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, discussed their latest research on renewable energy used to power oil and natural gas operations, including wind, solar and geothermal to name a few. Interest in satellite detection technology is continuing to grow, and Nicole Downey with Earth System Sciences provided an overview of satellite capabilities and the detection methods these satellites will likely utilize. Dan Zimmerle of Colorado State University (CSU) also delivered remarks on The Environmental Partnership’s ongoing work with the university’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC). Zimmerle noted that The Partnership’s funding and promotional efforts have enhanced METEC’s research into methane-sensing technologies and furthered ties between researchers and producers on projects to reduce emissions.

Jill Engel-Cox, Ph.D. – National Renewable Energy Laboratory

In addition to presentations, this year’s conference included a Technology Forum that was attended by many of the technology manufacturers helping to improve industry’s environmental performance. Conference attendees enjoyed learning more about these new techniques and technologies and created valuable new relationships with interested stakeholders.