Decarbonization Strategies & Implementation

January 23-24, 2024 | Online :: Central Time

0124-decarbonization-implementation

This comprehensive event is designed to be inclusive and bring together industry experts, policymakers, researchers, stakeholders and more to explore innovative strategies and actionable pathways toward a sustainable and decarbonized future. The conference aims to empower participants with knowledge, and actionable strategies to drive meaningful decarbonization efforts across various sectors and regions. It will serve as a vital platform for shaping a sustainable and low-carbon future.

Learning Outcomes

• Review trends in state and regional decarbonization and electrification programs
• Evaluate a variety of modeling scenarios for deep decarbonization pathways and the future generation mix
• Assess the impacts of decarbonization goals on electric load and natural gas capacity demand
• Identify utility execution strategies for beneficial electrification and emerging technology projects
• Discuss short and long-term resource adequacy and grid reliability under different decarbonization strategies
• Assess how transportation and building electrification can help achieve decarbonization mandates
• Analyze associated risks of natural gas investment in an increasingly decarbonized world
• Evaluate options to decarbonize the gas system through renewable gas and energy efficiency
• Hear from progressive cities who are mandating decarbonization requirements, and the impacts these policies have for energy generation infrastructure
• Review important regulatory and economic considerations to achieve grid decarbonization goals

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 : Central Time

9:00 – 9:20 a.m. :: Overview and Instructions

9:20 – 9:45 a.m. :: The U.S. Landscape for Reliable Decarbonization

Amidst the climate crisis, the pursuit of reliable decarbonization has taken center stage. This presentation will cover the following strategies and approaches that are driving this transformation:

• Trends in load growth and policy driving electrification and pressure on the grid to add more reliable capacity; potentially keeping fossil online longer
  • Datacenters/AI
  • EVs
  • Manufacturing
  • Building electrification
• Actions that could provide support towards reliable decarbonization
  • New technology studies and implementation
  • Tariff/rate design
  • Policy engagement
  • Procurement practices
  • Demand response
• Emerging outcomes from bilateral discussions include:
  • Greater transparency earlier in the planning process is critical to move from reactive to proactive grid planning
  • Demand flexibility, grid enabling technologies and clean repowering can help get more from the existing grid in parallel with interconnection queue processing/reform
  • Firm (clean) power is needed to meet load growth
  • Need for clearer guidance on next gen procurement strategies

Alexandra Gorin, Manager, Electricity, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. :: Decarbonization Strategies for Industrials  

Lowering our globe’s emissions is a major effort as we move toward a future net-zero-carbon environment and will require significant investment in new low-carbon infrastructure, along with key market incentives to change. Industry will play a key part in this transformation, requiring expertise in both energy and emissions. Key elements of the decarbonization strategy that will be discussed in this presentation are:

• Energy data
• Emissions reporting method
• Governance
• Decarb project generation and drivers
• MACC
• Electrification
• The decarbonization checklist

Ron Miller, Principal, Reliant Energy Solutions

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. :: Morning Break

10:45 – 11:45 a.m. :: Practical Steps Toward Decarbonization: DERs, Efficiency, and Offsite Strategies

This session will prepare you to develop a strategic plan for implementing your decarbonization solutions. We will discuss how to develop a “portfolio” approach for multi-meter or multi-facility entities with a focus on achieving the best ROI outcomes based on market pricing and trends. This will include a review of energy efficiency (reduction), distributed energy resource (production), and off-site renewables procurement solutions, in addition to assessing the utility paradigms and typical policies that apply to your state or regional market. This session will be led by an experienced energy solutions developer, engineer, financier, and builder with an acute knowledge of the cost and value propositions associated with decarbonization.

John Mitman, Founder & CEO, Obodo Energy Partners

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. :: Modernizing Regulatory Frameworks to Support Energy System Decarbonization

Twentieth century regulatory systems for the energy industry were designed to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable electric service with a one-way flow of power from generators to customers. However, the pace of electric system transformation and technological innovation has rapidly increased over the last 15 years, and legacy regulatory structures have struggled to keep up with the rate of renewable energy growth. Regulators and utilities alike must adapt to address the needs and opportunities created by decarbonization, the decentralized flow of power, and an increasingly intelligent electric grid. Traditional regulatory approaches are unprepared to face the turbulence, uncertainty, novelty, and ambiguity of technological innovations because they are designed for an older era of power generation and distribution. This presentation will examine how regulatory innovation helps regulators and utilities achieve decarbonization, equity, and resilience across the energy system.

Matt McDonnell, Executive Vice President, Head of Consulting Services, Strategen

Eli Asher, Regulatory Innovation Manager, Strategen

12:15 – 1:00 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. :: We Have the Money, Now What? How Regulators and State Agencies Should Work Together to Implement IRA to its Fullest Potential

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) dedicates more than $80 billion in federal incentives, tax credits, financing, and other flexible funding to greatly accelerate building decarbonization, especially for low-income households and frontline communities. This level of investment has the potential to transform the building sector; however, delivering on this potential will require meaningful and ongoing collaboration across many state and sub-state actors. This list should include funding recipients (such as state energy offices, departments of the environment, and metropolitan area planning entities) and non-recipients (such as public utility regulators and finance authorities). Alejandra Mejia Cunningham will present a vision for a whole-of-government approach to optimizing all pertinent IRA funding streams, focusing on specific areas where collaboration across agencies is most necessary.

After the initial presentation, she will be joined in conversation by government officials and program implementers from various states to discuss current challenges and best practices in action.

Alejandra Mejia Cunningham, Building Decarbonization Advocate, Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC)

Doug Scott, Chair, Illinois Commerce Commission

Will Toor, Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. :: Reducing Gas System Emissions: The Next Frontier in Emission Reductions in an Integrated Energy System

Colorado has set out a bold vision for a clean energy future. While Xcel Energy has a long track record of successfully decarbonizing the power generation sector, decarbonization of the natural gas sector is a new challenge and opportunity.

In August of 2021, Xcel Energy filed its inaugural Clean Heat Plan. This nation leading emissions reduction plan aims to achieve a 22% reduction of Gas LDC emissions by 2030. To achieve that vision, Xcel Energy is striving to operate the cleanest natural gas system possible, while continuing to serve Colorado customers with reliable and affordable energy to power their lives across both its electric and natural gas businesses.

This session will cover the considerations and implications for rapidly reducing gas sector emissions through a variety of emission reduction resources including:

• Electrification
• DSM
• Clean Fuels

The session will also cover important considerations related to electric system impacts and the interdependencies of planning an integrated energy system of the future.

Zach Pollock, Director of Grid Strategy & Emerging Technologies, Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy)

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:15 – 3:45 p.m. :: The Impact of Decarbonization on Electric Utility Infrastructure Planning and Investment

Decarbonization policies and targets will have a major impact on electric utilities with respect to their need to build out the power grid to integrate vast amounts of new renewable generation supply, while simultaneously managing the changing electric demand that comes from electrification of the economy. With a focus on distribution utilities, this presentation will cover:

• Categories of decarbonization policies, and their corresponding impact on the electric grid requiring investment. These categories include:
  • Clean electric power generation
  • Electrification of transportation
  • Electrification of buildings (heating and other end-uses)
  • Distributed solar and storage resources
  • Energy efficiency
• An overview of the magnitude of cost ranges expected to decarbonize the U.S. electric grid
• Discussion of regulatory considerations for utility cost recovery of infrastructure investment in support of decarbonization. The anticipatory investment needed to enable decarbonization is a departure from traditional asset planning practices where infrastructure investment is made in response to an existing need, rather than an anticipated need

Daniel N. Stuart, Ph.D., Associate, Analysis Group, Inc.

Grace Howland, Associate, Analysis Group, Inc.

3:45 – 4:30 p.m. :: Non-Carbon-Based Fuels Supporting Decarbonization of the Transporation Sector

The search for alternative, carbon-free fuels to eliminate the world’s dependence on fossil fuels has been a long journey for industry and academia. The automotive sector has focused their efforts on battery-operated vehicles, but the navy and aerospace sectors are more difficult to decarbonize. Hydrogen is often looked at as the solution to fueling our transportation fleet, but it comes with challenges in its transportation and storage. Instead, hydrogen carriers, chemicals that are rich in hydrogen and release (only) water when reacted with air are of increasing interest. One such example of a hydrogen carrier is ammonia. Ammonia is a versatile chemical, with applications that include:

• Fertilizer
• Refrigerant
• Cleaning agent
• Pharmaceuticals

Whilst ammonia has a well-established supply chain, the “green ammonia” market is new and unknown. This presentation will use ammonia as an example of chemical energy storage and hydrogen carriers and expand the discussion to alternative chemicals, of which the overall life cycle reduces substantially the carbon footprint of the transportation sectors.

George M. Bollas, Director – Pratt & Whitney Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering, Pratt & Whitney Endowed Chair Professor – Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut

 

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 : Central Time

9:00 – 9:45 a.m. :: Fighting Back Against Local Opposition to Renewables

Many utility-scale wind and solar projects face local opposition. Even environmental groups sometimes challenge projects because of their effects on birds, scenic views, and other factors. The Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI) was formed to provide pro bono legal assistance to community groups that favor utility-scale projects that are facing local opposite. This talk will discuss the “tradeoff denial” that is involved in some of this opposition; the activities of RELDI, and the statistics it has gathered in local opposition; and some possible federal and state legislation that could address the problem.

Michael Gerrard, Professor and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. :: Switch Is On Marketing Campaign

The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) started conducting research and developing its consumer campaign, Switch Is On, in 2019. Today, it is the one-stop-shop hub for marketing, education, technical assistance, and program support services in California. BDC provides information on 270 incentives from more than 70 programs (including low- and middle-income programs), manages more than 1,000 residential contractors, and collaborates with 80+ local governments, hundreds of neighborhood block leaders, dozens of media outlets, community-based organization (CBO), energy providers and program administrators.

This presentation will discuss how effective marketing campaigns understand the uniqueness of local conditions, the importance of trusted messengers, and the value of clear strategy and continuous improvement. 

Laura Wilson, Director of Marketing, Switch Is On, Building Decarbonization Coalition

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. :: Morning Break

10:45 – 11:30 a.m. :: The Viability of “Renewable Natural Gas” as a Net-Zero Decarbonization Solution

• Role of RNG for gas utilities
• Emergence of RNG voluntary market
• RNG as a decarbonization solution for C&I organization to achieve net-zero

Earnell Kelly, Manager, Renewable Gas Business Development, Southern Company Gas

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. :: Strategies for Natural Gas Utility Decarbonization

• Net-zero goals
• Emissions scopes in the natural gas supply chain
• Technology to detect methane emissions – a “system of things approach”
• Other meaning actions
• Data, data, data

Michelle Mendoza, Director, Natural Gas Climate Strategy & Execution, Duke Energy

12:15 – 1:00 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. :: City Leadership in Decarbonization

Cities and counties across the country are encouraging decarbonization through a variety of policy programs and mandates across industry sectors.  This session will look at the landscape of city decarbonization initiatives, discussing:

• The ability of cities to be more nimble than state or national code development
• How cities are becoming more involved in decarbonization initiatives
  • Electrification of transportation and buildings
  • Regulations to encourage GHG emission reductions
• Different approaches to city building decarbonization programs:
  • Efficiency-oriented
  • Renewable-oriented
  • Building electrification/ fuel switching
• Regulatory strategies and barriers
  • Building codes
  • Performance standards
  • Implications of Berkeley vs. CRA decision
• Case Studies: Partnerships and Tools to Support Cities in Advancing Decarbonization Goals
  • Boulder, CO
  • Seattle, WA
  • CCAs

Carolyn Elam, Sustainability Senior Manager – Energy Systems, City of Boulder

Julien Gattaciecca, Director, CCA Market Development, Calpine Energy Solutions

Duane Jonlin, Energy Code and Energy Conservation Advisor, City of Seattle

2:30 – 2:45 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

2:45 – 3:15 p.m. :: The Evolving Role of the Utility – Corporate Partnerships in the Age of Decarbonization

Utilities are increasingly being asked by customers to provide novel services and functionality beyond traditional services. To emphasize this point, this presentation will highlight three types of partnerships that utilities can cultivate to achieve these outcomes:

• C&I Partnerships
  • Enable mutual benefits that support all parties’ decarbonization initiatives, and also expedite industrial decarbonization – which has historically been challenging to decarbonize given energy processes and flows
  • Examples – Thermal batteries, hydrogen and CCUs
• Tech Mega Cap Partnerships (“Big Tech”)
  • Big Tech partnerships enable utilities to meet customers where they are, provide visibility to all parties involved, and increase customer empowerment/control of their energy narrative
• Start-Up Partnerships
  • • Utilities need to look to partner with new service providers and develop potentially novel business models to grow and meet the evolving needs of customers 
    • Case Study: Southern & Moxion Power
  • • • 2023 Tour Championship 
      • Energy Services in Atlanta 

Mike Kerrigan, Principal, Southern Company New Ventures

Cynthia Leung, Senior Manager – Strategy & Partnerships, Energy Services, Moxion Power

3:15 – 4:00 p.m. :: Energy Trends Impacting Business

Mankind is finding more and more uses for energy as demand grows, while the energy sector is seeing huge changes and trends that business leaders need to consider. The key for business leaders is to anticipate and exploit these energy trends to improve their business while remaining good stewards of the environment. Some of these trends include:

• Renewables and battery price declines
• California “Duck Curve”
• Energy storage
• Nuclear energy
• EVs
• Solar-to-steam
• U.S. shale oil revolution and investment
• Methane flaring
• Reducing emissions

Ron Miller, Principal, Reliant Energy Solutions

4:00 p.m. :: Conference Adjourns

• Eli Asher, Regulatory Innovation Manager, Strategen

• George M. Bollas, Director – Pratt & Whitney Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering, Pratt & Whitney Endowed Chair Professor – Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut

• Carolyn Elam, Sustainability Senior Manager – Energy Systems, City of Boulder

• Julien Gattaciecca, Director, CCA Market Development, Calpine Energy Solutions

• Michael Gerrard, Professor and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

• Alexandra Gorin, Manager, Electricity, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

• Grace Howland, Associate, Analysis Group, Inc.

• Duane Jonlin, Energy Code and Energy Conservation Advisor, City of Seattle

• Earnell Kelly, Manager, Renewable Gas Business Development, Southern Company Gas

• Mike Kerrigan, Principal, Southern Company New Ventures

• Cynthia Leung, Senior Manager – Strategy & Partnerships, Energy Services, Moxion Power

• Matt McDonnell, Executive Vice President, Head of Consulting Services, Strategen

• Alejandra Mejia Cunningham, Building Decarbonization Advocate, Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC)

• Michelle Mendoza, Director, Natural Gas Climate Strategy & Execution, Duke Energy

• Ron Miller, Principal, Reliant Energy Solutions

• John Mitman, Founder & CEO, Obodo Energy Partners

• Zach Pollock, Director of Grid Strategy & Emerging Technologies, Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy)

• Doug Scott, Chair, Illinois Commerce Commission

• Daniel N. Stuart, Ph.D., Associate, Analysis Group, Inc.

• Will Toor, Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office

• Laura Wilson, Director of Marketing, Switch Is On, Building Decarbonization Coalition

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a separate email with a unique link to a personalized landing page which will include links to join all sessions of this event.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

Please Note: This event is being conducted entirely online. All attendees will connect and attend from their computer, one connection per purchase. For details please see our FAQ

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all attendees for 7 days after the event

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Decarbonization Strategies & Implementation

January 23-24, 2024 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before December 22, 2023 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.2 CEUs for this event

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log on and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

Power Point presentations, panel discussions and Q&A

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Upon successful completion of this event, program participants interested in receiving CPE credits will receive a certificate of completion.

Course CPE Credits: 14.0
There is no prerequisite for this Course.
Program field of study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None

EUCI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

 

Who Should Attend

• ­Industry leaders and executives
• Researchers and academics
• Energy and utility professionals
• Government and policy makers
• Environmental and sustainability professionals
• Climate change and carbon management experts
• Clean energy project developers