Energy Storage Summit

Energy storage has become big news and a valuable contributor to the energy sector. The interest in energy storage is expanding for a couple of reasons. As utilities continue to add renewables to the grid, storing electrons and releasing them as needed is a key ingredient to solving the intermittency problem, particularly with wind and solar. Secondly, evolving technology now gives consumers more control of their energy use, and companies have formed to take advantage of that. This renewed interest in energy storage has been motivated primarily by declining costs of technologies, volatile fuel prices, new markets opportunities, transmission and distribution challenges on the electricity grid, and the emergence of intermittent renewable energy generation.

Until recently, The Southeastern United States has been devoid of large scale energy storage deployments because of a lack of favorable policy and regulatory actions. However, things are changing rapidly as some of the utilities in the Southeast have significant or growing renewable energy operations creating opportunities to use storage in their service territories and elsewhere. Interestingly, the Crescent Electric Membership Corporation in North Carolina became the first utility in the nation in 1987 to use batteries to reduce the amount of electricity they needed to generate during times of peak usage.

This conference will provide an overview of the regulatory landscape, load profiles, the economic justification of storage, non-wire alternatives, case studies and lessons learned. The conference materials provide valuable information on a full spectrum of applications for utilities, regulatory agencies, project developers, private investors, finance firms, wholesale market participants, and owners of existing wind and solar power plants. Conference attendees will enjoy quality networking with industry peers and will take away great ideas for refining and administering their storage initiatives.

Learning Outcomes

Discuss policy action across the country and in the southeast related to energy storage and grid modernization
Discuss the current state of energy storage technologies
Critique the economic justification for storage
Explain how controllable electric resistance water heaters can provide many of the same grid services as distributed battery storage
Evaluate what options are available for energy storage to maximize their capability in the wholesale market
Explain why storage makes sense from a resiliency perspective
Discuss storage and the interconnection process
Discuss some of the innovative applications of energy storage

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 1.0 CEUs for this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the conference to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

This program will include PowerPoint presentations and panel discussions

Agenda

Monday, October 16, 2017

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:15 a.m. :: Welcome from Conference Host Utility Duke Energy

Zak Kuznar will welcome conference participants to Raleigh, and describe the central role that storage is playing for Duke Energy as the company continues to expand its renewable portfolio. Duke Energy is a national leader in battery storage among utilities.

Zak Kuznar, Director of CHP, Microgrids and Energy Storage, Duke Energy

9:15 – 10:00 a.m. :: U.S. Policy Update: Grid Modernization and Energy Storage

States across the country are embarking on efforts to modernize the electric grid, including efforts to better consider the use of energy storage. This session will review recent policy action across the country related to energy storage and grid modernization, with an emphasis on how the southeast fits into the national picture.

Autumn Proudlove, Manager of Policy Research, NC Clean Energy Technology Center

Achyut Shrestha, Energy Policy Analyst, NC Clean Energy Technology Center

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. :: Networking Break

10:30 – 11:15 a.m. :: Energy Storage in the Southeast

Energy storage is an emerging technology in the Southeast but several factors have made it more important of late: energy storage duration is increasing allowing it to be used in new ways, costs have decreased, and its utility scale deployment has increased exponentially in the last couple of years. These three factors make energy storage more viable than ever before but the Southeastern energy environment – with vertically integrated investor owned utilities and low energy prices – make energy storage deployment more challenging. This session will review the current state of energy storage technologies, describe the challenges and opportunities of pairing energy storage with other distributed energy resources and finally, discuss the energy storage study that was mandated by the NC General Assembly to help energy storage asset owners and customers capture the stacked value it provides. The session will also briefly discuss HB 589 – the Competitive Energy Solutions for North Carolina — a new law in North Carolina that amends renewable energy laws related to energy policy and other distributed resources.

Diane Cherry, Strategic Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: Designing a Community Solar + Storage Project to Meet Customer Needs

The Public Works Commission of Fayetteville, NC is planning a Community Solar with Storage Project to meet the needs of their customers. In this session, Mark Brown will talk about the plans for the project, which is being designed to offer solar power to customers in a way that meets their needs by being:

Available
Affordable
Flexible
Economical

Mark Brown, Senior Customer Programs Officer, Fayetteville Public Works Commission

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. :: Group Luncheon

1:00 – 1:45 p.m. :: What’s Next for PJM?

As energy storage capabilities continue to evolve, what options are available for energy storage to maximize their capability in the wholesale market. This session will review the recent changes in the PJM regulation market and discuss what’s next after Ancillary Services for energy storage.

Danielle Croop, Senior Engineer, PJM Interconnections

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. :: The State of Energy Storage in Maryland

Advances in energy storage technology have made it a popular topic as industry, utilities, and governments consider the future of the electric grid. Recently, Maryland has been actively pursuing a variety of initiatives related to energy storage, in hopes of benefitting residents of the state. For example, during the 2017 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed a first-of-its-kind energy storage tax credit. The General Assembly also passed a bill to conduct a study of reforms that could help spur energy storage use in the state. From a regulatory standpoint, Maryland’s Public Service Commission began a Grid of the Future proceeding, which partly focuses on energy storage.

Kent Mottice, Energy Policy Manager, Maryland Energy Administration

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. :: Networking Break

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. :: The Hidden Battery: The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Controllable Hot Water Heaters

The nation’s 50 million residential electric water heaters collectively represent an energy storage resource capable of providing substantial environmental and cost benefits. A study by The Brattle Group evaluated the benefits of controllable electric resistance water heaters (ERWHs) and heat pump water heaters (HPWHs). The study found controllable ERWHs can provide many of the same grid services as distributed battery storage, such as ancillary services, daily energy arbitrage, and capacity value. The high efficiency of HPWHs can provide value in terms of reduced operating costs and reduced emissions. Both technologies can provide cost advantages over traditional, non-controllable electric water heaters. This session will introduce the study and its findings, as well as implications for utilities and customers.

Roger Lueken, Associate, The Brattle Group

3:45 – 4:15 p.m. :: Resiliency and Back-up Services for the Military

There is no room for failure when it comes to electricity sources for the military. The military must be able to deploy at a moment’s notice, set up a base, and have a reliable source of electricity. In this session, former Director of Public Works, Greg Bean will provide his thoughts on why storage makes sense from a resiliency perspective and is another tool in the military toolbox to ensure uninterrupted power.

Greg Bean, former Director of Public Works, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bragg

4:15 – 5:15 p.m. :: Technology Panel Discussion

Various types of storage exist, however for the Southeast and much of the US, the best technologies have been identified and the value determined. The utility industry is moving beyond pilot projects to integrative and functioning storage attached to the Grid. In this interactive panel discussion, vendors will respond to questions from the moderator as well as audience inquiries on how technology has changed to enable integrated storage projects, how to mitigate inherent implementation risks, and to learn about what could work best for your utility.

Moderator:

Tom Fenimore, Director, Technology Development Manager, Duke Energy

Panelists:

Joshua Rogol, Vice President, ViZn Energy

David Lentsch, Senior Manager, Maxwell

David Farmer, Director System Planning, UC Synergetic

Alexandra Goodson, Sales Manager, Saft America, Inc.

5:15 – 6:15 p.m. :: Networking Reception

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:15 a.m. :: Innovative Applications of Energy Storage & Microgrids in the Southeast

As energy storage increasingly becomes more cost competitive, we’re seeing utilities, co-ops, municipalities, and private industries begin to incorporate these technologies into their overall portfolio. In the Southeast, and more specifically North Carolina, our utilities and their customers have unique opportunities for energy storage unlike any other part of the world. Energy transmission and reliability have proven to be costly to some of the more remote parts of our state that lie in the mountains and near the beach. Even further, large sectors of our economy, such as agriculture, present exceptional demands on our transmission and distribution system. The Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster will provide an overview of some of the innovative deployments of energy storage seen in North Carolina.

Matt Abele, Communications & Events Manager, Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster

9:15 – 10:00 a.m. :: Distributed Energy Resource (DER) and Storage: Interconnection and Operations

This session will provide an overview of how Distributed Energy Resource (DER) interconnection differs from centralized generation interconnection and include a technical analyses and the types of technology applications. Grid connected storage will also be addressed that includes:

The benefits and challenges of grid connected storage
Improving the processes and standards for energy storage interconnection
Optimizing grid-connected battery storage to enhance renewable energy performance

Howard Smith, Manager, Distributed Energy Resources Policy, Southern Company

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. :: Morning Break

10:15 – 11:30 a.m. :: Policy Panel Discussion

This panel session will discuss modernizing utility planning processes and state policies to deliver the benefits of energy storage to electric customers in the Southeast.

Moderator:

Diane Cherry, Strategic Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association

Panelists:

Howard Smith, Manager, Distributed Energy Resources Policy, Southern Company

Kiran Kumaraswamy, Director, Market Development, AES Energy Storage

Gary Brinkworth, Director, Enterprise Research & Technology Innovation, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

11:30 a.m. :: Load Bus and Leave for ABB Smart Grid Center of Excellence Tour and Lunch

Tour of ABB’s Smart Grid Center of Excellence and Energy Storage Presentation

Join us for this interesting tour of ABB’s Smart Grid Center of Excellence (COE) and learn about ABB’s project experience in utility scale energy storage projects. The Smart Grid COE was created to demonstrate ABB’s technology and investment in the smart grid industry. The COE has functional systems which display the end-to-end solution where information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT) converge to close the loop of automation, control and data acquisition. Prior to the tour, attendees will hear a presentation on the variety of energy storage applications, technical issues and key considerations for successful project implementation.

Speaker: Pat Hayes, Business Development Manager Energy Storage, ABB

Tour Guide: Howard Self, Program Manager Smart Grid Distribution Automation, ABB

2:15 p.m. :: Return to Hotel and Conference Adjourns

Speakers

Matt Abele, Communications & Events Manager, Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster

Greg Bean, former Director of Public Works, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bragg

Gary Brinkworth, Director, Enterprise Research & Technology Innovation, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Mark Brown, Senior Customer Programs Officer, Fayetteville Public Works Commission

Diane Cherry, Strategic Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association

Danielle Croop, Senior Engineer, PJM Interconnections

David Farmer, Director System Planning, UC Synergetic

Tom Fenimore, Technology Development Manager, Duke Energy

Alexandra Goodson, Sales Manager, Saft America, Inc.

Pat Hayes, Business Development Manager Energy Storage, ABB

Kiran Kumaraswamy, Director, Market Development, AES Energy Storage

Zak Kuznar, Director of CHP, Microgrids and Energy Storage, Duke Energy

David Lentsch, Senior Manager, Maxwell

Roger Lueken, Associate, The Brattle Group

Kent Mottice, Energy Policy Manager, Maryland Energy Administration

Autumn Proudlove, Manager of Policy Research, NC Clean Energy Technology Center

Joshua Rogol, Vice President, ViZn Energy

Howard Self, Program Manager Smart Grid Distribution Automation, ABB

Achyut Shrestha, Energy Policy Analyst, NC Clean Energy Technology Center

Howard Smith, Manager, Distributed Energy Resources Policy, Southern Company

Location

Sheraton Raleigh
421 South Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27601

To reserve your room, please call 1-919-834-9900 or book online here.
Please indicate that you are with the EUCI group to receive the group rate.

Room Rate:

The room rate is $149.00 single or double plus applicable taxes.

Room Block Dates:

A room block has been reserved for the nights of October 15 – 16, 2017.

Rate Available Until:

Make your reservations prior to September 27, 2017. There are a limited number of rooms available at the conference rate. Please make your reservations early.