Seattle Clean Energy Innovation Forum with Grist.org.

energyNOW! Correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan moderates a discussion on clean energy innovation with Grist.org's David Roberts, McKinstry CEO Dean Allen, Ross Macfarlane of Climate Solutions and Bill Rebozo of GridPoint. The event was co-sponsored by energyNOW and Grist.org.

The panelists discussed topics including the definition of clean energy, whether government can spur innovation in energy, the reliability of various energy sources and the smart grid. They also took some questions from the audience.

ON CLEAN ENERGY: Roberts defines it as being able to get the energy services he wants in wants in his life, while consuming as little as possible to get those services, leaving as little waste as possible.

ON GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY: Rebozo believes money that the government invests in retrofitting buildings for efficiency can be made back several times over, making it a sound business decision.

ON THE RELIABILITY OF RENEWABLES VS. FOSSIL FUELS: Macfarlane says an integrated net of renewables coming from a variety of sources, together with reliable forecasting, can be just as reliable as fossil fuels.

ON WHETHER EFFICIENCY CAN ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR A SMART GRID: Allen describes it as a mater of where money is invested. He says if there is an increase in demand for a region, and a utility has to build a new power plant, it will get a getter return if it gives its customers an incentive to make their buildings more efficient.