On August 15, 2022, Under Secretary of State Jose W. Fernandez traveled to Denver, Colorado, to meet with government leaders as they prepare for next year’s Cities Summit of the Americas. He also toured the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), one of the country’s leading laboratories for renewable energy research and innovation technologies that will promote and accelerate the clean energy transition.
The Under Secretary met Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock to reaffirm the importance of intergovernmental engagement and to promote sustainable infrastructure solutions and the transition to clean energy. On August 17, Mayor Hancock, Governor Polis, and U.S. National Summit Coordinator Kevin O’Reilly announced that the Cities Summit will be hosted in Denver in April 2023. The Cities Summit and the Department’s Cities Forward initiative will build partnerships between cities in the region to facilitate innovative engagement on these issues and will also offer a chance to showcase U.S. cities as leaders, innovators, and engines of growth and opportunity.
While at NREL, Under Secretary Fernandez discussed the future of clean energy and toured the laboratory to learn more about the unique and cutting-edge solutions that are being deployed to support energy reform. He also met with experts on topics ranging from analyzing mineral supply chains and domestic solar energy production to new technologies to process and recycle critical minerals.