Thursday, November 14, 2019
| Time | Session Information | |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am - 5:00 pm | Registration Open | |
| 8:30 am - 10:00 am | Solar and Energy Storage Midwest Opening Session | Adams Room
8:30 am - 8:35 am | Welcome and Introductions Speakers: Julia Hamm, Chief Executive Officer and President, Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) Abigail Ross Hopper, Chief Executive Officer & President, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) |
|
|
8:35 am - 9:10 am | Perspectives on Leadership and Building the Solar+ Decade Moderator: Abigail Ross Hopper, Chief Executive Officer & President, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Speakers: Mallory Lindgren, Vice President, Solar and Storage, Westwood Professional Services Suzanne Stelmasek, State Government & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Exelon |
||
| Earlier this year SEIA laid claim to the 2020s as the Solar+ Decade to signify the leading role solar and its partners will play in reimagining our energy landscape. Hear from Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and two of Midwest Energy News’ 40 Under 40s as they dive into why the next decade will be one of radical market transformation for energy in the Midwest and what’s needed to build the Solar+ Economy to ensure that the energy transition reflects the diversity of our population. | ||
|
9:10 am - 10:00 am | On the Horizon: Grid Modernization Moderator: Julia Hamm, Chief Executive Officer and President, Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) Speakers: Tanuj Deora, Vice President, Market Development & Regulatory Affairs, Uplight Bradley Klein, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center Joseph Svachula, VP of Strategy, Exelon Utilities Curt Volkmann, President, New Energy Advisors, LLC |
||
| Midwest utility commissions are increasingly considering new opportunities to "modernize" the grid through investment in a variety of technologies that will enable greater adoption of distributed energy resources that can provide new grid services and potentially defer traditional utility investments. This panel will provide a range of perspectives on Midwest grid modernization opportunities and challenges, including a close examination of integrated distribution planning (IDP) and hosting capacity analysis in Midwest state dockets. | ||
| 10:00 am - 10:30 am | Speed Networking in Exhibit Hall | |
| 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | Exhibit Hall Open | |
| Breakout Session 1 | Breakout Session 2 | |
| 10:30 am - 11:20 am | Trends in Financing Renewables | Adams Room
Moderator: Lynn Parins, Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP Speakers: Anneli Alers, Vice President, Structured Finance, Invenergy LLC Josh Cornfield, Vice President, Marathon Capital Ed Rossier, Director of Project Management, Renewable Energy Investments, U.S. Bank |
The Evolution of Consumer Protection in Illinois- Who Needs Protection? And From Whom? | Monroe Room
Moderator: Michael Strong, Member, Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn, Ltd. Speakers: Andrew Christensen, Director, Markets & Regulatory Affairs, Vivint Solar Laurel Passera, Policy Team, Coalition for Community Solar Access |
| This session will provide an in depth look at leading perspectives on financing trends, structures, deal terms, current market conditions, and a forecast on where the renewables industry is heading in the Midwest. | Consumer protection issues have grown more and more important in solar over the last several years, and there's no indication that the trend is reversing. The panel will explore the latest in model consumer protection standards, disclosure statements, and areas in need of improvement in developing regulations that serve customers and expand solar access. | |
| 11:25 am - 12:15 pm | Interconnecting Renewables in the Midwest | Adams Room
Moderator: MeLena Hessel, Policy Advocate, Environmental Law & Policy Center Speakers: Eric Dearmont, Director, Regulatory Affairs and Interconnection Policy, Ameren Garrett Peterson, Vice President, Project Development, Pivot Energy Mark Raeder, Principal, Summit Ridge Energy David South, Senior Principal, Energy & Utilities Practice, West Monroe Partners, LLC |
Corporate Procurement of Renewables in the Midwest | Monroe Room
Moderator: Chris Mathey, Senior Director, Policy and Market Innovation, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance Speakers: Daniel King, Team Lead - Product Strategy & Development, Xcel Energy Ben Serrurier, Senior Manager, Origination, Level10 Energy Shannon Weigel, Director, Policy, Edison Energy, LLC |
| This session will discuss how to appropriately address common interconnection challenges for renewables in the Midwest. Wholesale market, utility, and industry experts will share their perspectives on the adoption of the updated IEEE interconnection standards, challenges with interconnecting hybrid systems, and high voltage transmission needs in the Midwest. | Corporate procurement of renewables is poised for significant growth in the Midwest. This session will cover a forecast of C&I needs, green tariffs and highlight high profile companies that are purchasing solar, wind, and other renewables. | |
| 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm | Networking Lunch |Red Lacquer Room | |
| 1:15 pm - 1:40 pm | QuickTalk: Ohio Market Update | Adams Room
Speakers: J. Caleb Bell, Partner, Bricker & Eckler Dylan Borchers, Associate, Bricker & Eckler |
State of Wind Development in the Midwest | Monroe Room
Speaker: Beth Soholt, Executive Director, Clean Grid Alliance |
| Ohio has been in the news recently for nuclear and coal bailouts, as well as the gutting of its renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. However, Ohio has also seen over 1 GW of new utility scale solar projects before the state permitting board. In addition, Ohio is a nationwide leader for the use of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), which is increasingly being used for onsite solar. This presentation will provide an Ohio regulatory update, an overview of its siting process, and the use of PACE to advance solar projects. | This session will give the latest facts, figures and trends in wind development in the Midwest. Hear about the state markets and policies driving development, utility plans and goals for wind and carbon reduction, and the demand by Commercial and Industrial (C&I) customers for wind projects. What factors have made wind development in the regional so successful? For anyone developing wind projects in the Midwest or looking at getting in the game, this QuickTalk session is a must! | |
| 1:45 pm - 2:10 pm | QuickTalk: Case Study - Distribution Planning for EVs | Adams Room
Speaker: Don Peterson, Vice President, Energy Technology, Madison Gas & Electric Company |
QuickTalk: Planning and Building a Transmission Grid for the Future that Enables Wind Power | Monroe Room
Speaker: Sean Brady, Regional Policy Manager and Senior Counsel, Clean Grid Alliance |
| Optimized charging of electric vehicles is necessary to mitigate distribution system impacts and prevent additional costs to the customer. This session will discuss the state of the managed charging industry and the impact of electric vehicles on grid flexibility. | This session will briefly cover work underway in the Midwest to plan and build a transmission grid that facilitates wind development. MISO, PJM and SPP all have large interconnection queues full of wind projects. How do they study what’s needed to interconnect wind, and how does that interact with annual transmission planning done by a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator? This session will cover what to build and who should pay for new transmission as well as other drivers that will require transmission. | |
| 2:15 pm - 3:05 pm | The State of DERs in the Midwest | Adams Room
Moderator: Benjamin Inskeep, Senior Energy Policy Analyst, EQ Research Speakers: Brian Cuffle, Supervisor Distribution Design, Ameren Brent Buchberger, Project Development Manager, ENGIE Distributed Solar Toba Pearlman, Senior Attorney & Renewable Energy Advocate, Climate & Clean Energy Program, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc Aurelien Windinberger, Finance and Design, Ideal Energy Solar |
Federal Policy Trends and Impacts on Energy Growth | Monroe Room
Moderator: Shaun Garrison, Director, Congressional Affairs, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Speakers: Costa Nicolaou, Chief Executive Officer, PanelClaw, Inc. Eric Simon, Senior Management Team, Michael Lewis Company Vanessa Tutos, Director, Government Affairs, EDP Renewables |
| Distributed energy resources like solar can benefit consumers and grid operators alike. This session will explore perspectives on the technical capabilities of DERs to provide grid value, the policy framework to ensure that customers are compensated fairly for that value, and implementation that ensures a smooth transition and minimal market disruption. | This panel will evaluate the range of federal policy pathways under consideration in Washington DC and evaluate the short and long term challenges for the continued deployment of energy technologies and infrastructure development | |
| 3:05 pm - 3:30 pm | Networking Break & Exhibits | |
| 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm | Overcoming Barriers in the Midwest Storage Market | Adams Room
Moderator: Richard Farinas, Manager, Research, Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) Speakers: Ken Boyce, Principal Engineer Director, UL LLC Ken-Ichi Hino, Director, Energy Storage, Geronimo Energy Suzanne Leta, Senior Manager, Global Market Strategy, SunPower Corporation Ryan Young, Energy Team Project Manager, Iowa Economic Development Authority |
Clean Energy Accessibility for All | Monroe Room
Moderator: John Delurey, Midwest Director, Vote Solar Speakers: Jon Carson, Founder, Trajectory Energy Partners Naomi Davis, Founder, Blacks in Green Vito Greco, Associate Director, Solar Program, Elevate Energy |
| States across the country are embracing energy storage due to the falling costs of lithium-ion batteries and its role as a valuable grid asset but the Midwest storage market is just starting to gain its footing. In 2018, the Midwest region interconnected just over 6% of all energy storage deployed in the U.S. States such as Iowa and Minnesota are investing in studies to quantify the value of adding storage to the grid but still face obstacles in reaching broad implementation. This session will cover the technical, policy and regulatory barriers of scaling storage in the Midwest. | Clean energy should be accessible to all. How do we replicate best practices from other parts of the country across the Midwest? Illinois is currently the only state with in-dept LMI program with workforce training. Include opportunity zones. | |
| 4:25 pm - 5:15 pm | Finding a Renewables Mix in the Midwest - Optimizing Wind, Solar, and Storage to Meet Capacity Needs | Adams Room
Moderator: Brian Ross, Program Director, Great Plains Institute Speakers: Kristen Brown, Principal, Innovation & Partnerships, Exelon Utilities Christopher Clack, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Vibrant Clean Energy Shanelle Evens Montana, Director, Development, BayWa r.e. Solar Projects LLC/America Barry Matchett, Head, External Affairs, Midwest and Gulf, Clearway Energy |
How Effective Messaging Can Win Over Audiences | Monroe Room
Moderator: Colin Silver, Director, Digital & Internal Communications, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Speakers: Liz Dalton, Executive Director, Clean Energy Leadership Institute Peter Gray, Director, Client Services, Aileron Communications Zadie Oleksiw, Senior Manager, Communications, Clearway Energy Group |
| An abundance of wind generation in the Midwest is causing utilities to look to solar to meet their capacity needs. Diversifying the generation mix and co-locating complementary technologies like wind and solar (and storage) can make projects economical and mitigate the limitations of intermittency. Hear from a panel of leading developers, analysts, and utility representatives as they discuss what’s needed to meet peak demand. | Learn from a diverse set of professional communicators and campaigners on how to best communicate the value of renewables in the Midwest. We’ll dive into the latest public opinion polling to show you what works and what doesn’t, and help attendees learn better ways to tell their story, attract customers, and leverage the industry’s overwhelming popularity to develop a more active and engaged public network of supporters. | |
| 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm | Exhibit Hall Happy Hour | Sponsored by
|
| 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm | Networking Reception (ticket included with Conference Registration only) | Honore Room at the Palmer House Hilton | Sponsored by
|
