Congress Can’t Adapt To “The Pace Of Innovation,” Hunt Says – Rainey Center

Rainey Center’s CEO and co-founder, Sarah Hunt, spoke on a panel at the American Conservation Coalition’s (ACC) inaugural policy colloquium last week. Both Rainey Center and Rainey’s Leadership Alliance for a More Perfect Union (LAMP) sponsored the event.

The event’s aim was to engage and educate young Capitol Hill policy leaders on “market-based, corporate-led, limited government environmental reforms.” Attendees heard from environmental policy leaders and gained a better understanding of how to approach this complex issue.

“Energy efficiency, technology, and the future of energy” was the final panel of the event which featured Hunt, who addressed many of the challenges that energy innovation is facing, saying,

Our regulatory state, and, frankly, our legislative body is not adaptable to the pace of innovation we see today. One of the challenges that we face are these regulatory boundaries to develop, test, and deploy new technologies, whether it’s energy or flood control. Obviously, we want things to be done in a sound and appropriately safe way, but it can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to test your new nuclear reactor, for example. And that’s even before you know if you’re going to be approved to sell a product in the market.

Hunt expounded on her experience with helping get new technology approved in the market. She explained that environmental impact assessments can take years to get approved for any new technology, and even after you get through the federal level you may still have to go through additional tests and litigations in each state you are working in.

Hunt is a leader in conservative clean energy policy and a successful social entrepreneur. Prior to founding the Rainey Center, Hunt launched a clean energy program at the American Legislative Exchange Council and a climate change program at the Niskanen Center. She currently serves as a board member for the American Conservation Coalition.

You can watch the panel conversation here.