Preliminary Conference Agenda

Grassroots to Grid: Bridging Innovation & Community Values

ANCA’s 2026 Climate & Energy Conference will feature a dynamic mix of interactive panels, field trips, and collaborative workshops designed to help participants explore how renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and emerging technologies can work together to advance regional priorities, promote social equity, and strengthen community resilience.

Session tracks will include:

• • Generation and Transmission
• • Innovation
• • Community Needs and Involvement

 

Day 1: Thursday, May 7, 2026

 

• • 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. — Take the Electric School Bus (with Chuck O’Neil of New York Bus Sales) on a series of tours, beginning with Atlas Hoofed It Farm in Vermontville.
• • 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. — Gain an overview of the Kate Mountain Park Solar project from aboard the bus.
• • 2:30 – 3:15 p.m. — Tour Franklin Town Hall Clean Energy Communities (CEC) projects led by a local expert.
• • 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. — Welcome Reception at Mt. Pisgah Recreation Center in Saranac Lake

Field trip: Atlas Hoofed It Farm, Vermontville

Step outside your normal expectations of a conference and join us at Atlas Hoofed It Farm for a guided experience. Located in Vermontville, New York, owners Sara and Dan Burke operate a diversified livestock farm featuring heritage breed pigs, Scottish Highland and Devon Cattle, and laying hens.

Like many small farms in the Adirondack North Country, the Burkes face costly utility bills. Attendees will learn how ANCA helped the Burkes secure federal funding to acquire solar panels, which are now reducing their electric bills and increasing the farm’s financial and environmental sustainability. 

The farm’s name is a nod to an old Atlas missile silo at the center of the property around which livestock graze. Participants will explore the farm and gain an understanding of the innovative projects the owners are planning, such as using groundwater within the decommissioned silo for a geothermal loop to heat and cool existing and future buildings. Another potential project is a pump storage system utilizing the groundwater in the old silo. 

This is sustainability lived, not just talked about. Protecting farmlands and wild places starts with experiencing them. Step outside, and experience a farm that exemplifies the best of bridging innovation and community values. Register now to be part of the conference showcasing these regional values.

 

Day 2: Friday, May 8, 2026, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

• • • 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. — Registration, Exhibitor Booths, Hot Breakfast
  • –

• • • 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. — Welcome Remarks & Plenary
    • Innovation Showcase: Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE)

• • –
  • • 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. — Break

• • –
  • • 10:45 – 11:55 a.m. — Breakout Sessions (1)
    • Generation & Transmission Track — TBA
    • Innovation Track — Climate Change Adaptation Showcase
    • Community Track — Utility Affordability Session

• • –
  • • 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. — Lunch, Exhibitor Booths, Networking

• • –
  • • 1:30 – 1:45 p.m. — Break

• • –
  • • 1:55 – 2:55 p.m. — Breakout Sessions (2)
    • Generation & Transmission Track — Nuclear 
    • Innovation Track — Historic Preservation Energy Efficiency | Speaker: Erin Tobin
      
    • Community Track — Building Contractor Roundtable | Moderators: North Country Clean Energy Hub

• • –
  • • 2:55 – 3:10 p.m. — Break

• • –
  • • 3:10 – 4:20 p.m. — Breakout Sessions (3)
    • Generation & Transmission Track — State Energy Plan | Speaker: Sameer Ranade
    • Innovation Track — BESS 101: Charging Up Your Grid Knowledge | Speaker: Camille Warner
    • Community Track — Bridging the Gap: How Regional Clean Energy Hubs Bridge Home Health & Efficiency | Hosts: Bella Abbadessa & Kayla Gutheil

 

Stay tuned for a more details about sessions, speakers and more.

 

Register Here 

 

Photo: 2025 Conference attendees participate in a Green City planning activity.