Catan, Clean Energy, and Code: Can You Prove That Wind Farm Actually Generated Electricity?

Every time a company claims it's "100% powered by renewable energy," or a product says it's "made with clean energy," we all assume that statement traces back to a wind turbine or solar panel that actually produced the electricity. But... who actually checks?

This session digs into the hidden system behind clean energy claims — Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), the registries that issue and track them, and why verifying generation claims is harder (and more interesting) than it sounds. We'll start with the trust problem, then walk through what it actually takes to validate a claim using real-world data.

Along the way we'll: * Peek inside the strange world of US energy infrastructure: 3,000+ utilities, 50 state regulatory schemes, several registries, and a federal dataset that still starts in CSVs and dBase * Reconstruct missing power plant data using 20+ years of free public datasets * Use physics models and real satellite weather data to estimate what a generator should have produced * Compare modeled vs. reported generation and ask: does this claim hold up? * Show how it all turns into an API (with a quick peek at code)

We'll also touch on how richer data unlocks new kinds of claims — like energy tied to pollinator-friendly solar — and why that matters for the next phase of the energy transition.

Expect a mix of storytelling, consumer-friendly examples (yes, Catan), light audience participation with fun rewards, and practical lessons on working with messy public data. No energy background required. If you like uncovering hidden systems — or just a new way to think about "trust, but verify" — you'll fit right in.

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• Development
• Emerging Tech
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• Marketing