The following was taken from Paige Knutsen’s opening remarks at the 2025 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference. The remarks have been shortened and edited for clarity. Watch the full remarks here.  

With any new administration, there are lots of changes. We can expect changes at the Department of Energy. We can expect changes at FERC and the EPA and more. Load growth is a big concern – with data centers, batteries and new reshoring of industry – all these different things are putting additional strain on our grid, and it is our responsibility to help bring solutions together.  

While we may be shaken by some of the changes at the higher levels of policy, we at MEEA are optimistic about what is happening at our state and local levels. We've seen great clean energy policy coming out of Illinois and Minnesota. We're seeing municipals and co-ops being engaged in energy efficiency policy in Michigan in 2023. We saw Kansas pass KEEIA and we did have Evergy, one of our members, roll out energy efficiency programs for the first time in the state of Kansas in the middle of 2024. In Nebraska, we had three public power districts bring these programs into the state. These are states where we don't normally see strong energy efficiency policy and this is happening now. We're continuing to see positive momentum in the Midwest.

Right now, we all need to find what it is that keeps us motivated and moving forward. All of us have a reason that we're in this industry, probably beyond just the money, right? We all need jobs. We have families to sustain, things that we want to do in the future.  

This is my why. This is the family farm in Iowa. That's where I come from. This is a restored native Prairie. This used to be corn and soybean on an annual rotation, but my family over the past 40 years has been working to take it out of that monoculture agriculture and restore this to native prairie. I want to go back to this. This is where I will retire.  

Left: This is maybe 45 years ago. My mom, grandpa, sister and I are picking mulberries.

Right: I’m pictured here with a "prairie predator" which you use to hack out prairie weeds and it’s my mom's greatest purchase. She loves that thing. 

My mother is 77 years old and works every day during the summer for six hours in Iowa heat to continue to preserve this. Somebody may look at a pretty field of flowers and not realize the amount of work that takes. I'm committed to this. And I’m committed to MEEA.  

Many people may not know I started my career at MEEA. Right out of graduate school, I was hired as a program associate at MEEA on the Building Operator Certification™ Program. I've come full circle to return to MEEA as the Executive Director. I've stayed that committed to the work that we do.

I think a lot of us right now are having our foundation shaken. From a personal and professional perspective, I hope that we can find inspiration in each other.

These are my inspirations. 

This is why I'm doing this work. This is my grandma and grandpa on the farm. They took the work that they wanted to do and made that commitment to the land in Iowa.

Share your inspiration for this work and stay motivated as we move through these changes together. We need this more than ever over the coming year.