Executive Summary: September 8th AEG RE+ 25 Action Challenge: Energy, Health & Prosperity

Overview

Held on September 8th, 2025 at The Venetian Las Vegas, NV during RE+ 25, forty public and private industry leaders convened for the AEG RE+ 25 Action Challenge: Energy, Health & Prosperity. The purpose of this challenge was to: 1.) Align on a critical obstacle regarding energy, health and prosperity affecting Greater Las Vegas and/or the West; 2.) Engage as cross sector teams to agree on a 12 month solution with a 90 day sprint. 3.) Empower leaders to deliver the solution and present the outcome at RE+ 26 in Las Vegas.

​Erika Symmonds, Vice President, Equity & Workforce Development, SEIA, Tick Segerblom, Commission Chairman, Clark County, Nevada, ​Greg Zegas, Managing Director of Investments, Nevada Clean Energy Fund, provided opening remarks to frame the discussion surrounding energy, health and prosperity for Greater Las Vegas / Nevada.

Opening remarks were followed by the Speaker Challenge, where each speaker provided a presentation that concluded with this completed statement: “Regarding climate, health, and prosperity, a critical obstacle to collectively overcome in 12 months that would benefit Greater Las Vegas / NV communities is ________.”

5 Key Themes

1. Expand Access to Capital for Clean Energy and Efficiency
Providing financial tools and technical assistance is vital to help underserved households, schools, Tribes, and small businesses adopt energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean transportation solutions. Access to affordable financing ensures cost savings, better health outcomes, and job creation.

“A critical obstacle to collectively overcome in 12 months to benefit Greater Las Vegas / NV communities is access to capital for clean energy and energy efficiency.”
— Greg Zegas, Nevada Clean Energy Fund

2.  Strengthen Heat Governance and Climate Resilience
Extreme heat presents one of the greatest threats to health and prosperity in Nevada. Establishing centralized governance, such as a council of governments or a heat office, will align efforts, attract funding, and reduce heat-related illness and mortality.

“A critical obstacle to collectively overcome in 12 months to benefit Greater Las Vegas / NV communities is understanding collaborative efforts for heat mitigation and exploring options to create centralized governance.” — Robert Burgy, Clark County

3. Drive Energy Efficiency and Building Retrofits at Scale
Scaling up efficiency retrofits for commercial and residential buildings will reduce operating costs, strengthen resilience against extreme weather, and cut emissions. Education, incentives, and targeted outreach are key to overcoming low participation and unlocking significant cost savings.

“A critical obstacle to collectively address in 12 months is to promote energy efficiency by engaging your network and taking advantage of NV Energy’s support and funding opportunities.” — Mark Darden, DNV

4. Align Customer Solutions with Long-Term Grid Resiliency
Programs must balance immediate customer needs—lower bills, appliance replacement, and energy equity—with grid modernization goals like peak demand reduction and renewable integration. This dual focus will support both affordability and system reliability.

“A critical obstacle to collectively overcome in 12 months is to provide solutions that assist our customers in the short term and provide long-term grid resiliency.”  — Adam Grant, NV Energy

5. Achieve Widespread Buy-In and Collaborative Action
Lasting change depends on widespread participation from businesses, policymakers, and communities. Large-scale conservation, rebate utilization, and interagency collaboration all require shared ownership and compelling ROI to succeed.

“A critical obstacle for Fontainebleau to collectively address in the next 12 months is widespread buy-in.”  — Michael Heiman, Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Inspired by the statements provided by all Speakers, participants synthesized the obstacle statements as: Lack of buy-in and engagement within our networks for energy efficiency projects that can access needed capital and mitigate heat. Participants then designed, and pitched 90-day sprints and 12-month objectives to best address this critical obstacle. 

To join this group of volunteers, please contact us at info@goadvancedenergy.com.

Conclusion

The AEG RE+ 25 Action Challenge on Energy, Health, and Prosperity convened state and local officials, utility innovators, clean energy financiers, building efficiency experts, and community resilience leaders to address urgent challenges facing Nevada’s energy transition. The challenge underscored the need to expand access to clean energy capital in underserved communities, strengthen governance to mitigate extreme heat, and accelerate commercial and residential energy efficiency retrofits. Key themes included aligning customer solutions with long-term grid resiliency, fostering widespread buy-in across sectors, and leveraging collaborative leadership to scale adoption. As volunteer task force members advance a 90-day sprint and 12-month roadmap, their collective efforts will be essential to building a healthier, more resilient, and more prosperous energy future for Nevada.

Access to private resource pages, which include speaker presentations, and survey responses, from AEG Stakeholder Challenges is reserved for Signature Sponsors and City/Government Partners. To become a Signature Sponsor, learn more here: https://aeg.team/engage