2023 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference (Virtual)
Join the NW Energy Coalition for our 2023 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference!
Thursday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 9
9:00am – 11:30am PT / 10:00am – 12:30pm MT.
During this virtual event, panelists will discuss how to advance community energy resiliency and decarbonization through expanding the use of customer-side resources such as energy efficiency, storage, and distributed renewable energy. We’ll hear from experts on the role of markets and transmission in enhancing economic benefits from clean energy projects. Finally, we’ll connect it all by tackling reliability and how to ensure the region has enough resources to meet customer demand.
Thursday, May 4
9:00 – 10:10am PT: Local Energy Resources and Resiliency
Communities across the Northwest would benefit from community-based investments to expand the role of customer-side resources. Customer side resources, such as energy efficiency, demand response, storage, and distributed renewable energy, support local energy resiliency and decarbonization. What is needed to accelerate customer-side resource investments to support community energy resiliency and help communities meet their decarbonization goals?
Moderator: Marli Klass, Energy & Environmental Justice Policy Associate, NW Energy Coalition
Panelists:
- Amy Cilimburg, Executive Director, Climate Smart Missoula
- Scott Gibson, Energy Storage and Emerging Technologies Department Manager, Snohomish County PUD
- John Seng, Policy Manager, Spark Northwest
- Otto Braided Hair, Jr., Co-Founder & Interim Chair Advisory Board, Indigenized Energy
10:15 – 11:25am PT: The Value of Markets and Transmission Expansion to the West
West-wide electricity markets and transmission will play a key role in helping the Northwest meet our decarbonization and economic goals. How could an expanded western electricity market be of value to the Northwest? How can we ensure adequate transmission is available for enhancing economic benefits from renewable energy and storage projects?
Moderator: Fred Heutte, Senior Policy Associate, NW Energy Coalition
Panelists:
- Leah Rubin Shen, Managing Director, Advanced Energy United
- Spencer Gray, Executive Director, Northwest and Intermountain Power Producers Coalition
- Kathy Anderson, Senior Manager of Real Time Operations and Markets, Idaho Power
Tuesday, May 9
9:00 – 10:30am PT: Resource Adequacy & Reliability
Ensuring that utilities and the region have enough resources to meet customer demand at peak times (also known as resource adequacy) is critical for a reliable system. What’s the link between resource adequacy and reliability? Why are they so important? Utilities shouldn’t be an island; markets, transmission, and the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) can and should support reliability and sufficient resources for utilities to share.
Moderator: Lauren McCloy, Policy Director, NW Energy Coalition
Panelists:
- Sarah Edmonds, President & CEO, Western Power Pool
- Kris Raper, Vice President of Strategic Engagement & External Affairs, Western Electricity Coordinating Council
- Jennifer Light, Director of Power Planning, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
10:35 – 11:25am PT: Keynote Conversation
Moderated dialogue between:
- Sonia Aggarwal, CEO of Energy Innovation Policy & Technology LLC
- Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director, NW Energy Coalition