Amory Lovins, efficiency guru and prolific author, to speak at N.C. State

Amory Lovins, a Harvard and Oxford-educated physicist regarded by some as a prophet of energy efficiency, will speak tomorrow about energy-saving frontiers at N.C. State University in Raleigh.

Lovins was one of the first to advocate for incentivizing industries and utilities to use less energy by paying them for achieving savings. The idea was dismissed at first but has since been adopted by many states, including North Carolina in its 2007 energy law requiring power companies to increase their reliance on renewable resources and energy efficiency.

Lovins is the co-founder, with his wife, of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and the winner of numerous awards and prizes, including the 1993 MacArthur Fellow, commonly known as the "genius grant." The author of 31 books and more than 450 papers, he was listed as one of the most influential figures in business in the centennial issue of The Wall Street Journal and named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine.

According to the Rocky Mountain Institute's website, Lovins is a consultant to more than 100 energy utilities and more than 40 corporations, along with state, federal and foreign governments.

Lovins' presentation, at 1:30 p.m. in the Witherspoon Student Cinema, is free but requires registration to enter: http://www.cvent.com/d/4cq9qb/4W