Grid Transformation: Building the Energy Future
The GridWise Architecture Council is pleased to partner with RE+ for our 9th Symposium, where we will discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the ongoing Grid Transformation. Under the US Department of Energy’s sponsorship, GWAC is celebrating 20 years of thought leadership supporting the dynamic transformation of the power grid with a focus on the 3 Ds: Decarbonization, Decentralization, and Democratization.
This year’s two-day symposium will bring together industry leaders to discuss the benefits and challenges of architecting, managing and operating electric power systems with the widespread adoption of distributed energy resources. The symposium will engage attendees to discuss new guidance and recommended practices for the next generation of stakeholders in the most complicated and expensive system ever built: the electric power grid.
Featuring keynotes, panels, and interactive workshops, the symposium builds on GWAC’s leadership in transactive energy systems, grid interoperability, and grid architecture. Join us for these informative and interactive discussions for all grid, grid edge, and DER stakeholders.
More information coming soon!
Around on Monday?
Join the Gridwise Architecture Council for their Pre-Symposium Tutorial, An Introduction to Grid Architecture, Transactive Energy, Industry Trends, and Foundational Concepts, kicking of at 2:00 PM in Room 204B (Anaheim Convention Center, Level 2).
Schedule
Wednesday, September 11
| Time | Session & Moderator | Panelists |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am - 9:00 am | Opening Introduction Speaker: Ron Bernstein, GWAC Chair and CEO, RBCG Consulting | |
| 9:00 am - 10:00 am | GWAC Foundational Session Moderator: David Forfia, Senior Consultant, Utilicast | Steve Widergren, GWAC Emeritus Christopher Irwin, US DOE Office of Electricity Aaron Synder, EnerNex |
| 10:00 am - 10:30 am | Keynote Speaker: Gene Rodrigues, US DOE - Assistant Secretary for Electricity | |
| 10:30 am - 10:45 am | Break | |
| 10:45 am - 11:45 am | Plenary Panel: Pathways to Decentralized Energy Decentralized electricity is more possible and more promising today than ever before, as the performance and cost-effectiveness of distributed resources keep improving rapidly. This panel will feature presentations by three practitioners who are working at the leading edge on innovative approaches to unlock the greatest benefits of decentralized energy. Moderator: Lorenzo Kristov, Principal, Electric System Policy, Structure, Market Design | Samuel Golding, Energy Choice Partners, President, and Founder
Alex Papalexopoulos, Ph.D., ECCO International Inc. President & CEO Matt Renner, Vice President, Seneca Environmental |
| 11:45 am - 12:00 pm | Moderated Open Forum | |
| 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm | Panel Session & Workshop: Grid Transformation The complexity of planning and operating the electric grid is ever increasing as the electric grid becomes more integrated and automated. This grid transformation will require a higher level of business and technical capabilities to drive operational optimization. The panelists will discuss innovative architectural approaches that help enable a more open, interoperable, and flexible grid of the future. Moderator: Mark Ortiz, Lead Architect, Distributed Energy Systems, Schneider Electric | Jim Ogle, PNNL, Research Principal
Anthony James, Southern California Edison, Sr. Eng./Data Scientist Joe Zhou, Black and Veatch, VP Digital Grid |
| Panel Session & Workshop: Regulatory and Policy Decision-makers in the regulatory space currently grapple with long-term planning and immediate power system needs. This panel serves to ground these decisions by examining practical solutions to enable DER, load, and grid growth simultaneously. The panelists will discuss rate design, microgrids, regulatory approaches, and system planning needs solved in parallel to reach a decarbonized future. Moderator: Marc Costa, Director of Policy and Planning, The Energy Coalition | Myron Katz, ProRate Energy, Vice President
Allie Detrio, Reimagine Power Inc., Chief Strategist Anne Hoskins, Generac, SVP Policy & Market Dev, Energy Technology | |
| 2:30 pm - 2:45 pm | Break | |
| 2:45 pm - 4:30 pm | Panel Session & Workshop: Grid Edge Electrification The complexity of planning and operating the electric grid is ever increasing as the electric grid becomes more integrated and automated. This grid transformation will require a higher level of business and technical capabilities to drive operational optimization. The panelists will discuss innovative architectural approaches that will help enable a more open, interoperable, and flexible grid of the future. Moderator: Mark Ortiz, Schneider Electric, Lead Architect, Distributed Energy Systems | Chris Morris, PG&E, Chief Architect
Guillaume Aman, Uplight, Director of Product Management Deepti Kodeboyina, Schneider Electric, Sr. Director, Prosumer Software |
| Panel Session & Workshop: New Industry Structures Utilities currently face many challenges as they seek to respond to societal, technological, and environmental change. New architecture demands have been added to the electric system, including new competitive structures and partners dealing with grid-edge customers, all alongside new social and regulatory pressures for rapid change. These include challenges with coordination and management of distributed energy resource (DER) operations from customers to aggregators, aggregators to utility operations, and between markets, regulators, customers, and other external system stakeholders. Regulators and operations stakeholders in the industry have emerging needs for transparency in data and processes regarding sustainability interests and / or requirements. This session will explore these topics and solutions in a hybrid workshop, with 3 thought-leading panelists first representing industry, academia, and government stakeholder perspectives, followed by a collaborative session where attendees will contribute to the discussion and help evaluate and formulate paths forward. Moderator: Shawn Chandler, Guidehouse, Director | Aarash Saidi, LADWP, Power Eng. Mgr. of Dist. Resources
Matt McDonnell, Current Energy Group, Managing Partner Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, UCLA, Professor and Researcher Dr. Eric Fournier, California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, Research Director | |
| 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm | Wrap Session | |
Thursday, September 12
| Time | Session & Moderator | Panelists |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am - 9:30 am | Plenary: Global Perspectives Moderator: Aaron Snyder, EnerNex, Director of Grid Technology Consulting | Mark Paterson, Energy Catalyst, Managing Director, and Lead Systems Architect
Others TBA |
| 9:30 am - 9:45 am | Break | |
| 9:45 am - 12:00 pm | Panel Session & Workshop: Information and Communication Enabling diverse grid components to interact effectively requires standardization and accurate data interpretation. This session will explore the critical role of seamless data exchange and communication in modern energy systems. The benefits of semantic framework will be highlighted including interoperability to improve grid efficiency, real time decision making, and grid resilience. Moderator: Andrew Bordine, Grid Automation Practice Head – T&D Utilities | Steve Widergren, GWAC Emeritus
Robby Simpson, Enetrics, Research Principal Brian Seal, EPRI, Sr. Program Mgr, DER Integration |
| Panel Session & Workshop: Coordination and Dynamics This panel and workshop will explore the future dynamics of the system and talk about new ways to coordinate power flow dynamically to manage these new system dynamics and what they mean for grid operators and consumers. Moderator: Kay Aikin, Dynamic Grid, Founder – Chief Product Officer | Santosh Veda, Dominion Energy, Mgr. Grid Solutions
Julieta Giraldez, PhD, Electric Power Engineers, Dir. Of Integrated Grid Planning Kaveh Aflaki, PhD, IEMS Solutions, Chief Executive Officer | |
| 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm | Panel Session & Workshop: Grid Edge Technology, integration, and Implementation The panel session will cover a two-pronged approach to Grid Edge Technology, Integration, and Implementation. At the grid edge, it will cover a CEC-funded demonstration project on deployment of renewable microgrids on individual urban residential blocks (ECoBlock project). As to integration with grid operation, the panel will address how Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) whether within the Point of Common Coupling of microgrids or aggregated as Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are integrated into grid operation to provide grid services for enhanced grid reliability and resilience. Moderator: Farrokh Rahimi, Open Access Technology, International, Inc. (OATI), Executive Vice President | Daniel Shepard, Dewberry Engineering, Lead – Control System Cybersecurity Design Center
Hani Alarian, CAISO, Executive Director, Power Systems Technology Operation Phillippe Phanivong, Calf. Institute for Energy & Environment, Post-doctoral Scholar |
| Panel Session & Workshop: Customer Perspective Large customers face choices about simultaneously managing affordability, reliability, and organizational objectives. This panel will cover perspectives from large institutional, public, and private sector consumers and building representatives. A discussion will include their experience navigating the deployment of DERs, grid interactive solutions, and options on the path forward of resilience and autonomy. Moderator: Marc Costa, Director of Policy and Planning, The Energy Coalition | Eric Bornstein, Resource Innovations, Senior Manager
Sean Higbee, Calf. State Univ. Office of the Chancellor, Energy Procurement Manager | |
| 3:00 pm - 3:15 pm | Break | |
| 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm | Conference Wrap Session | |
About GridWise Architecture Council
The GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC), a US DOE-sponsored council of grid and grid edge subject matter experts, has spent 20 years developing guidance to meet stakeholders’ needs, including system planners, engineers, policymakers, and integrators to develop solutions strategically.
