Thank you to everyone who attended the Energy Storage Summit and to our excellent speakers!
Florida International University’s solar thermal collector system. Photo Credit: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
The Energy Storage Summit hosted by the Energy Transition Lab on July 15th at the University of Minnesota Law School, featured a blend of presentations by national and local energy storage experts on topics related to the policy, regulatory and market drivers affecting energy storage in Minnesota. Summit participants from a variety of sectors convened to network and participate in a high level discussion about the future of energy storage in the state. The full agenda including presentations for the event can be seen below. Click here to view a list of presenters for the energy storage summit.
Energy Storage Summit Agenda July 15th 2015
7:30 AM Arrival and Breakfast
8:00 AM Welcome and Introductory Comments
8:15 AM Energy Transition and Energy Storage
This presentation features a high-level overview of how our energy system is changing and the future of the electricity grid, and provides a brief overview of energy storage and how it fits into a modernized grid. It addresses questions such as:
- What do we mean by energy storage?
- What role does storage play in the current and future energy grid?
- What will it take to make storage cost-effective?
- How does energy storage address greenhouse gas reduction, resiliency and reliability?
Presentation: Energy Storage and the Networked Grid by James Tong of Clean Power Finance
9:00 AM The Latest Energy Storage Research
This panel discussion features University of Minnesota scientists highlighting some of the latest research related to batteries, compressed air, flywheels, pumped hydro storage and solar thermal storage and opportunities for energy storage in Minnesota.
Moderator: Kristen Nelson University of Minnesota
Presentations:
- Powering Progress: Smarter, Sustainable, Mores Secure and Resilient Energy Infrastructure by Massoud Amin
- Electric Storage Education and Research by Ned Mohan
- Open-Accumulator Isothermal Compressed Air Energy Storage for Off-Shore Wind Energy by Perry Y. Li.
- Short-term energy storage for a mid-size wind turbine with hydrostatic transmission by Kim Stelson
- Pumped Hydro and Compressed Air Energy Storage by Don Fosnacht
- Flywheel energy storage for a Smart Distribution Grid by Eric Severson.
10:00 AM Coffee and Networking Break
10:15 AM Integrated Energy Systems and Storage
This presentation features a panel discussion on the different ways that energy storage fits into a truly integrated energy system. Experts focus upon a variety of storage applications such as electric hot water heaters, solar and storage, and pumped hydro storage; how they can be integrated into a modern energy system; and benefits to the system in terms of resiliency, reliability, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Moderator: Nina Axelson Evergreen Energy
Presentations:
- Xcel Energy’s Solar + Storage Pilots by Al Choi
- Electric Thermal Storage Water Heating by Jeff Haase- Great River Energy
- Minnesota Power is Moving EnergyForward by Julie Pierce
- Solar+Storage for Resilient Power by Seth Mullendore- Clean Energy Group
11:15 AM Networking and Lunch Break
During this time Summit participants had the opportunity to network and review posters describing current University of Minnesota research related to energy storage.
12:00 PM Lunch and Keynote Address
The Energy Storage Summit’s keynote address was provided by Janice Lin, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA) and the Global Energy Storage Alliance, and Founder and Managing Partner of Strategen Consulting LLC. The presentation features a discussion of national and global trends related to energy storage and focuses upon the policy, regulatory and market drivers of energy storage opportunities and barriers in California. Ms. Lin also discusses the need to organize industry and stakeholders around the issue of energy storage and how this process helped to accelerate deployment in California.
Presentation: Energy Storage: Power System Game Changer by Janice Lin
12:50 PM The Rules Matter
This panel discussion focuses upon state, regional and national legal, regulatory, and market rules related to energy storage. The panel features representatives from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), experts on Mid-continent Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), and other local energy law and policy experts.
Moderator: Alexandra Klass University of Minnesota Law School
Presentations:
- Public Utilities Commissioner John Tuma
- Energy Storage: Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Perspective by Rao Konidena
- Steve Dahlke of the Great Planes Institute
- Valuing Energy Storage by Seth Mullendore- Clean Energy Group
2:10 PM Coffee and Networking Break
2:25 PM The Business Case for Storage
During this presentation Minnesota-based companies and other experts speak about the value proposition that energy storage technology provides for their business and their customers. This features a discussion of storage at multiples scales including utility/transmission scale to distribution to the customer side of the meter.
Moderator: Paul Douglas Aeris Weather
Presentations:
- Dan Cross- Mortenson Construction
- Beth Soholt- Wind on the Wires
- Community-Based Solar/Wind/Storage Hybrids by Dan Juhl- Juhl Energy
- Demand Charge Management with Solar + Storage for the Commercial Customer by Stacy Miller- MN Department of Commerce
- Battery Storage and the Distribution Cooperative by Steve Nisbet- Wright-Hennepin Electric
3:45 PM Facilitated Participant Engagement and Concluding Remarks
Immediately following the Summit, participants were invited to a Networking Reception at the University of Minnesota Law School from 4:30 PM until 6:30 PM
The reception was sponsored by Juhl Energy, Ever-Green Energy, Xcel Energy, Innovative Power Systems Inc, Great River Energy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and PAR Energy Solutions LLC-Policy Analysis and Regulatory Advice.
The entire Summit was videotaped and will be available on the Energy Transition Lab website shortly
Energy Storage Summit Participant List
Tagged Community Solar, Energy, Energy Grid, Energy Policy, Energy Storage, Energy Storage Summit, Energy Transition, Minnesota, Resiliency
