2021 Spring Technical Workshop

The 2021 Spring Technical Workshop will be held online with sessions beginning on March 2 and closing on April 8.

Below you will find a list of the scheduled session topics, speaker/presentation information and registration links for each session. Please note, all sessions are FREE to attend.

---

Opening Session and Keynote Comments (REGISTER)

Tuesday, March 2
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. (US-EST)

Chair: Mark Ahlstrom (@markahlstrom), President, ESIG Board of Directors, NextEra Energy Resources

Introduction
Mark Ahlstrom (@markahlstrom), President, ESIG Board of Directors, NextEra Energy Resources

Keynote: 100% Clean by 2050, What Does it Look Like?
Christopher Clack (@DrChrisClack), Founder & CEO, Vibrant Clean Energy

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Opening Plenary: Electricity Pricing (REGISTER)

Thursday, March 4
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EST)

Chair: Debbie Lew, Associate Director, ESIG

Modern Pricing Designs
Ahmad Faruqui, Principal, Brattle

Residential Time-of-use and Demand Rates at APS
Charles Miessner, Consultant, APS, Chairman EEI Rates Committee

Flexible Demand Programs on the Path to 100% Renewable Supply
Steve Beuning, Vice President Power Supply and Programs, Holy Cross Energy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 3: Grid Forming Inverter Research Landscape (REGISTER)

Tuesday, March 9
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (US-EST)

Chair: Julia Matevosyan, Lead Planning Engineer, ERCOT
Debate format on the disconnect between what is needed for system operations and what the OEMs can deliver. Presentation of system operations requirements, with reactions from the OEMs; consultant and researcher providing possible ideas to bridge the gap.

System Operations
Babak Badrzadeh, Technical Director – Power Systems, Aurecon, Australia
Julian Leslie, Head of Networks, ESO, National Grid, United Kingdom

OEMs
Eckard Quitmann, Head of Integration Department, ENERCON, Germany
Gary Custer, Principal Application Engineer, SMA

Consultant
Andrew Isaacs, Vice President, Electranix

Researcher
Tim Green (@OtherProfGreen), Professor, Co-Director of the Energy Futures Laboratory (EFL), Imperial College London, United Kingdom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 4: The Advent of the Inverter Based System (REGISTER)

Thursday, March 11
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EST)

Chair: Jason MacDowell, Senior Director – Technology, Strategy & Policy, GE Power

Bulk Power System Reliability with Increasing Inverter Technology – IRPWG Update
Ryan Quint, Senior Manager, BPS Security and Grid Transformation, NERC

IEEE P2800, A Draft IEEE Standard for Inverter-Based Resources Interconnecting with Transmission Systems
Jens Boemer, Principal Technical Leader, EPRI

Will We Be Ready for a Future Without Synchronous Machines? 
Sebastian Achilles, Managing Director Power Systems Operation and Planning, GE Power

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 5: The Changing Planning Environment (REGISTER)

Tuesday, March 16
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Ken McIntyre, Executive Director System and Operations Integration, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)

Linking Different Modeling Tools and Domains
Nidhi Santen, Senior Technical Leader, Energy & Environmental Analysis, EPRI

Do Traditional Unit Commitment Algorithms Work with the Changing Resource Mix? Getting the Tails into Production Cost Modeling
Russ Philbrick, CEO/CTO, Polaris Systems Optimization

LA 100: Consideration in Planning for 100% Clean Energy
Greg Huynh, Operating Agent Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 6: Is There Green Hydrogen in Your Future? (REGISTER)

Thursday, March 18
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Bethany Frew, Engineer, NREL

Green Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Electric Vehicles
Corky Mittelsteadt, Vice President, Electrolyzer Technology, Plug Power

Distributed PV Hydrogen Production
Alan Yu, CEO, LAVO, Australia

Wind to Hydrogen with the Port of Rotterdam
Elizabeth Endler, Program Manager – Advanced Energy Storage, Shell

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 7: Energy Storage Developments (REGISTER)

Tuesday, March 23
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Bob Zavadil, Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder, EnerNex

Oakland Clean Energy Initiative Battery Storage
Ric O’Connell (@RicOConnell8), Founding Executive Director, GridLab

Role of Hydropower in a Low Carbon Future
Pierre-Olivier Pineau, Professor, Dept. of Decision Sciences, HEC Montréal, Canada

Is There a Business Case for Battery Backup at Data Centers?
Mike Della Penna, Project Lead, Carbon-free Energy, Google

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 8: Transmission – Breaking the Logjam (REGISTER)

Thursday, March 25
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Wayne Galli, Executive Director, NextEra Energy Transmission

Transportation Corridors and Transmission Line Siting
Morgan Putnam (@morgancputnam), Consultant

Dynamic Line Rating Case Study
Rena Kuwahata (@KuwahataRena), Business Development Manager, Ampacimon, Belgium

The Value of Inter-regional Coordination and Transmission in Decarbonizing the US Electricity System
Patrick Brown, MIT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 9: Distribution System Planning Evolution (REGISTER)

Tuesday, March 30
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Miroslav Begovic, Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University

UK Open Network’s Project and Active Network Management System for DER Flexibility
Jason Brogden, Energy Networks Association

UFLS and DER: Shadows on the Tombstone of Old UFLS
Nick Miller, HickoryLedge LLC

Blackstart from DER
Vahan Gevorgian, Chief Engineer, NREL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 10: The Evolving Hybrid Power Plant (REGISTER)

Thursday, April 1
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Derek Stenclik, Founding Partner, Telos Energy

Optionality Value of Hybrids
Mark Ahlstrom (@markahlstrom), President, ESIG Board of Directors, NextEra Energy Resources

The CA Hybrid Power Plant Model
Mark Rothleder, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, California ISO

Enhancing the Value of Solar Energy at High Penetrations
Andrew Mills, Research Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Session 11: Co-optimization Techniques and Results (REGISTER)

Tuesday, April 6
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Lindsay Anderson (@lndsyandrsn), Associate Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University

G&T Planning
Christopher Clack (@DrChrisClack), Founder & CEO, Vibrant Clean Energy

T&D Planning
Bryan Palmintier, Manager, Grid-connected Energy System Modeling Group, NREL

Gas and Electric Network Planning
Alex Rudkevich, Enelytix

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---

Closing Plenary: Resource Adequacy, Rolling Blackouts and Wildfires (REGISTER)

Thursday, April 8
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (US-EDT)

Chair: Mark O’Malley (@profmarkomalley), Chief Scientist, ESIG
Debate format on the linkages and disconnects among changing climate, changing resource mix and changing resource adequacy requirements. Two ISOs will describe what they are facing in this regard, and several discussants will respond with some observations and ideas.)

CA Summer 2019-2020 Events
Phil Pettingill, ISO Director, Regional Integration, CAISO (Followed by two short responses)

• • • • Market Design, System Operations, and Software Challenges – Erik Ela, Senior Technical Leader, EPRI
      • What are the Resource Adequacy Options for CA? – Arne Olsen (@ArneOlsonE3), Senior Partner, E3

AU Summer 2019-2020 Events
Ben Jones, Supply Adequacy Stream Lead, Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) (Followed by short response)

• • • • What are the RA Options for AU? – David Bones, Executive Manager Risk, Assurance and Regulation, GHD Advisory

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

---