In the noisy back-and-forth of the presidential elections, it can be difficult to remember that many other offices are highly contested – positions that in many ways could have a more direct influence on the energy business than high-profile but more general US federal policy or international treaty efforts.

Elected officials need to take down the barriers that make it hard for cities to innovate, C40 Climate Leadership Group Director Michael Marinello said in this video panel discussion with Breaking Energy. Cities have in many cases proven that they can move ahead with technology implementation and market changes at the local level; federal officials who can’t help need to get out of the way, he says here.

Market design needs to focus on the longer term too, Navigant Consulting Director Andrew Kinross told us in this video. The wind industry has been a beneficiary of tax treatment, but now that the industry is expanded and meeting power demand as well as providing jobs across the US, politicians threatening to cancel the tax treatment could wreak havoc on the wind sector.

To watch more videos like this and to read more about energy in the US elections cycle, visit our Elections 2012 hub here.