FEATURING OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Annual Conference | Agenda | Pre-Conference Workshops | Film Screening | Speaker Bios | Registration

Sponsors | Committee | Press Release | Hotel

Conference Keynotes

Monday, October 23

Tuesday, October 24

Monday, October 23

Sunday, October 22, 6:30pm

Pre- Conference Film Screening

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

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Sunday, October 22

SPECIAL FILM SCREENING EVENT

6:30pm

TREIA and Southwestern University Jointly Present

An Inconvenient Sequel:Truth to Power A Film by Former Vice President and GridNEXT Keynote Speaker Al Gore

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Monday, October 23

PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

7:30-8:00am

Conference Open: Registration

8:00-11:30am

Pre-Conference Event: Cleantech Open South Central Regional Finals

Cleantech Open is a global accelerator for early-stage clean technology startup companies. We run an annual program to connect startups with the incredible people, resources, and visibility to help them succeed. The program culminates in a pitch competition where all of our companies will be presenting, with the winner advancing to the National Competition. Come see the exciting things happening in early stage clean tech in Texas and Arkansas.

PRE-CONFERENCE READINESS WORKSHOPS:

8:30-9:10am

GridNEXT 1.0: Renewable Energy Project Economics 

Last several years have seen significant adoption of renewable energy in the US and around the world. Technology advancements along with rapid price decline in the areas of solar, wind, energy efficiency, battery storage etc., have enabled this growth and continue to be strong drivers for future growth. Understanding the complexities of project development and becoming familiar with various available funding mechanisms are important first steps for customers wanting to pursue such projects. This workshop will introduce the concepts of project development and finance as it relates to renewable energy. The intended audience for this workshop are home and business owners considering renewable energy purchases, electric utilities, students and anyone interested in learning the basics of renewable energy project development. The workshop closes with providing a deep dive into Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, a financing vehicle for energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy installations for residential, commercial and industrial property owners.

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Speakers

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9:10-11:30am

GridNEXT 2.0 Energy Markets, Regulatory & Technology

This workshop will provide an overview of how ERCOT markets (and markets in general) work with respect to:

• Declining costs curves for new resources (wind, solar, storage) and the dynamics driving them

• The energy geography of ERCOT, as well as theoretical imitations for integrating renewables into a closed system such as ERCOT

• An intro to the concept of digitization as it applies to wind turbines - but also to new and existing gas-fired generation that foster further renewables integration

• Changes in how supercomputing and materials science are changing the entire energy landscape

• Energy storage overview, trends, and impending impact on the future energy landscape

• How the above realities likely play out in the near-to-midterm, and things to watch for, such as: things to watch for, such as convergence of modes and technologies (e.g., transportation colliding with electricity; buildings becoming batteries; and lighting networks providing security and marketing)

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Speakers

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PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

10:00-11:30am

How Local Communities can be Designated as SolSmart

The workshop will focus on how the designation process works for cities and challenges and tips for success. Potential topics include: 

Permitting
Planning, Zoning, & Development
Inspection
Construction Codes

The workshop will also cover recent efforts in Texas cities to pass and implement solar-ready construction codes.

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Speakers

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CONFERENCE BEGINS

11:30-12:30pm

Opening Lunch

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12:30-1:15pm

GridNEXT Special Opening Keynote Speaker: Former Vice President Al Gore

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1:15-1:30pm

Break: Networking

1:30-2:00pm

GridNEXT Keynote: Cris Eugster Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Fred Bonewell, Chief Safety & Security Officer (CSSO) – The Present & Future State of Utilities

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2:05-3:30pm

Opening Session: When Technology and the Grid Play, Clean Energy Shines

When wind and solar ignited the deployment of technology on the grid, it marked the start of the biggest transformation in the history of electric industry, unleashing the trigger for more grid-centric technology. The play between technology and the grid demonstrates the optimization of the delivery of cleaner energy through the stacking of value of its components, resulting in cheaper energy and more flexible choice to the end consumer.

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3:30-4:00pm

Break: Network Energy Break

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4:00-4:50pm

Session 2: Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the Grid: Driving Electrified Transportation in Texas

EVs designed for mass-market appeal have arrived. How quickly are EVs gaining market share in Texas? How will grid operations, infrastructure, and planning be affected? What is the public sector’s role in managing the transition?

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4:55-5:45pm

Session 3: Resilient, Smart Spaces & Solar + Storage

Moderator
 

Speakers

• Judy McElroy: CEO, Principal Consultant, Fractal Energy Storage Consultants

• Topher Blunt: Commercial Project Deployment, Tesla

• Scott Hinson: Pecan Street Inc.

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6:00-7:30pm

Happy Hour Reception + Awards: Cleantech Open Winners & Student & Business Leader Awards

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Tuesday, October 24

7:30-8:00am

Conference Open & Breakfast: Registration & Networking Breakfast

8:00-8:30am

Keynote Breakfast: The Intersection of Philanthropy and the Environment

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8:30-9:25am

Session 1: Emerging Issues In The Energy-Only ERCOT Market

This session will cover the latest developments in the ERCOT wholesale market, including the PUC project addressing price formation rules, which was triggered by a white paper commissioned by NRG and Calpine. Other issues on the front burner include proposed changes to the ancillary services markets and the longstanding issue of real-time co-optimization of energy and ancillary services. A lively discussion can be expected from panelists representing different industry vantage points, including the independent market monitor.

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Speaker

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9:30-10:10am

Fireside Chat: Jan Vrins, Global Energy Practice Leader, Navigant and Gavin Bade, Editor, Utility Dive and

"Hand in Hand: Decarbonization and Power Sector Resilience" 

Global power sector trends are pointing toward decarbonization and greater grid resilience. Renewable energy is becoming cost competitive, cheap natural gas is encouraging a shift away from coal and battery technology is advancing quickly for both stationary and mobile applications. These trends are compounded by policy supports from many U.S. states and foreign governments, and can also enhance the power system's ability to "bounce back" from attacks or outages through more distributed, fuel-independent resources.

But those trends mask troubling realities for the global energy transition. Even the Paris Accord Agreement signatories are not on track to meet their emission targets, and recent U.S. regulatory action uncertainty threatens to stall decarbonization efforts in the world’s largest economy. Given these realities, how should policymakers and industry officials in the U.S. respond to create a future that's not only low carbon, but high resilience? That's the big question Navigant Global Energy Practice Leader Jan Vrins will answer in this panel. 

Speakers

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10:10-10:40am

Break: Network Energy Break

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10:40-11:30am

Session 2: Planning the User and Operator Roadmap to An Innovative, Resilient, Smarter Grid

Has the smart grid “vision of the future” already been achieved? ERCOT has reached over 50% renewables numerous times on the grid in 2017. Ahead of schedule AMI has been largely deployed across the urban centers of Texas, and demand response programs provide valuable benefits to customers and the resilience of our statewide grid. Concurrently, rural electric cooperatives in this state hold renewables, energy efficiency and demand response programs, and are building new value for members proactively in a more and more connected age.. All of this is occurring amidst changing market conditions and addressing evolving customer needs & desires.

What happens next? Are we ready for the change ahead? What are we striving for? Texas utility leaders answer these questions and provide critical insights and domain-specific expertise in this update on their utilities’ initiatives as they place their efforts on the roadmap leading to their vision of the smart grid.  Learn about utility views on trends and technologies that are transforming the electric grid including Smart Meters, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Electric Storage, Smart Street Lighting, Demand management, Electric Vehicles etc.

Moderator
Andrew Johnston, Director, Global Energy Practice, Navigant

Speakers

• Bill Hetherington, CEO/GM, Bandera Electric Cooperative

• Dan Smith, Vice President of Electric Service Austin Energy

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11:35-12:25pm

Session 3: Addressing Emerging Cyber-physical Security Challenges and the Microgrid

This panel will address countermeasures to real-world cyber physical threats to the microgrid ranging from a practitioner's perspective, R&D innovation, and simulation of industrial solutions. Experience a 'what if?' Q&A session with the panelists that attempt to emulate an emerging threat scenario and actionable solutions.

Moderator
Dr. Annette Sobel: Director, GLEAMM

Speakers

• Wes Rhodes: Digital Transformation Executive, Chief Technologist AI, Cloud & Cognitive, Director, Network Science Research Center, IBM

• Igor Alvarado: Academic Business Development Manager, National Instruments

• Mark Harral: CEO, Group NIRE

• Chaaeun (Elizabeth) Kim: Petroleum Engineering, Texas Tech University

• Beibei Ren: Director of the Dynamic Intelligent Systems, Control and Optimization (DISCO), Texas Tech University

• Ryan Moody: Senior Manager in Global Cyber Strategy, Siemens USA

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12:30-1:00pm

Lunch Break: Networking

Sponsored by

1:00-1:40p

Lunch Keynote: NREL: Juan J. Torres: Associate Laboratory Director, Energy Systems Integration: Grid Technology Trends and the Competitiveness of Energy

Renewable energy and distributed energy resources are providing many benefits in meeting US energy needs.  However, we are facing significant challenges associated with increasing the penetration of these technologies on the grid.  In this talk, we explore some of the opportunities and challenges we face as we architect a trajectory for the evolution of our power grid. 

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1:45-2:35pm

Session 4: Planning Resources for The Future: Public Power is Moving Toward Further Integration of Renewables and Technology

From large-scale projects to smaller behind the meter projects, public power utilities in ERCOT are increasing their use of renewable technologies. However, in an energy-only market, how are utilities able to manage the risk if local load zone prices soar, or if congestion or line issues impact their utility-scale resources? How are these utilities incorporating new technology like storage or demand response into their resources? How are they encouraging local customer-sited solar and storage without impacting rates or cross-subsidizing rate payers? What are the trends moving forward? What is the value proposition of co-locating storage with renewables?

Moderator
Michael Jewell: Attorney, Jewell & Associates, PLLC & Principal, Osprey Energy Group, LLC

Speaker

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2:40-3:30pm

Session 5: Corporate Energy Management: Evolving Preferences and the Texas Grid

Corporate energy managers are becoming more sophisticated as they seek to meet ambitious carbon-reduction goals. Texas has been fertile ground for corporate renewables, with over 2 GW of contracts signed to date. What new strategies are corporate energy managers pursuing, and what do they mean for the Texas grid?

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3:35-4:25pm

Closing Session: Cities In the Driver's Seat - Leading Meaningful Transformation to a Cleaner Grid

Texas City Leaders discuss ways their cities are keeping their commitments to enact green energy policies that are rapidly transforming the 21st century grid.

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4:30-6:00pm

Closing Remarks

4:30-6:00pm

Closing Reception

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