Thomas Turner, the State Director for Conservatives for Clean Energy Virginia (CCE-VA), recently joined conservative policy leaders and energy innovators from across the country at the 2026 National Conservative Energy Summit (NCES) in Boston, Massachusetts.Hosted by the Conservative Energy Network (CEN) from August 3–5, 2026, this year’s summit focused on the most pressing challenges facing the American energy landscape: optimizing grid utilization, securing long-term reliability, and aggressively expanding domestic energy production to keep pace with soaring power demands.
A standout highlight for Turner was a forward-looking session dedicated to Offshore Wind Development and its implications for U.S. Military Readiness. The discussion underscored how landmark regional projects—such as the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project currently developing off the coast of Virginia Beach—require intricate, proactive collaboration between commercial energy developers and the Department of Defense. Navigating these overlapping spatial and operational requirements is paramount; it ensures Virginia can scale its vital clean energy infrastructure without compromising critical military radar networks, vital training corridors, or daily Atlantic Fleet operations anchored at Naval Station Norfolk.
Beyond the deep-dive policy panels, the summit offered an invaluable opportunity to reconnect, strategize, and collaborate with the broader CCE and CEN family. Ultimately, it was a highly successful conference that balanced industry-leading professional growth with meaningful fellowship, equipping CCE-VA with fresh insights to continue championing balanced, market-driven clean energy solutions back home in the Commonwealth.