Sustainable Northwest’s Fall Energy Symposium 2025
Earlier this month Wy’East RC&D had the pleasure of attending Sustainable Northwest’s 10th Annual 2025 Fall Energy Symposium in Southern Oregon’s beautiful Rogue Valley.
Sustainable Northwest is an Oregon-based nonprofit whose mission is to bring people, ideas, and innovation together so that nature, local economies, and rural communities can thrive. This year’s event, from September 17-19th, brought together over one hundred rural energy leaders, changemakers, and community champions from across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
The Rogue Valley region of Southern Oregon experiences frequent wildfires and public safety power shutoffs, highlighting a greater need for local energy resilience in the community. The Fall Energy Symposium began with a tour of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Talent Community Center solar arrays, before attendees headed off to a tour of Southern Oregon University’s clean energy projects.
The next day centered on four panels held at the Phoenix Plaza Civic Center. Before the panels began, attendees received a warm welcome and regional energy updates from Margi Hoffmann of the Northwest Power & Conservation Council, followed by a legislative update with Oregon State Senator Jeff Golden and Representative Pam Marsh who provided insights on progress that’s been made at the Oregon State Capitol and their experiences navigating state energy policy as well as some of the local energy and resilience challenges that the Rogue Valley is facing.
Image Credit: Jacob Kaplan - Sustainable Northwest
The following sessions invited attendees to dive into several opportunities and challenges facing Oregon’s rural and tribal communities. Panel topics included: wildfire resilience, microgrids, tribal led biomass projects, the clean energy funding landscape, and agricultural electrification (moderated by our very own Robert Wallace, Executive Director at Wy’East RC&D).
The extensive discussion and learning from earlier panels culminated in an activity led by Titus Tomlinson, Program Director of RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) at the University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy and Engagement. This final activity encouraged everyone in attendance to reflect on what they learned, create connections with one another, and explore future possibilities for energy innovation in rural Oregon’s communities.
Image Credits: Jacob Kaplan - Sustainable Northwest and Michael Kluz - Wy’East RC&D
On the third and final day, attendees made the drive to Rusted Gate Farm in Central Point, OR, for a tour showcasing their unique, experimental, and modern farming practices. Rusted Gate Farm has the opportunity to experiment with different regenerative farming methods, implement new energy-efficient equipment, and invite others to learn about the results of their demonstration farm. The day ended at Troon Vineyard & Farm in Grants Pass, OR. Troon Vineyard does not operate like a traditional vineyard and winery; it is the world’s only Demeter Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Gold Certified winery and farm. We got to hear about the various ways that Troon Vineyard & Farm limits its carbon footprint throughout the growing and production process, as well as see a fully electric Monarch MK-V electric tractor that Troon will be testing at their vineyard operation this fall as part of the E-Farms program.
Wy’East is proud to have been one of the sponsors of this year’s 2025 Fall Energy Symposium, and is grateful for the continued support that Sustainable Northwest’s Making Energy Work Coalition provides for rural communities across Oregon.
As always, we are already looking forward to next year’s symposium. Thank you to Sustainable Northwest for such an informative and amazing event!