Energy Resilience, Infrastructure and Innovation February 4-7, 2020 - The Fairmont, Washington, DC
PDF VersionThe following is the agenda for the NASEO 2020 Energy Policy Outlook Conference and Innovation Summit.
The opening session includes remarks from NASEO’s Board leadership and a review of conference themes.
The U.S. energy landscape – policy, programs, markets – is evolving rapidly, and State Energy Directors continue their aggressive leadership roles in seizing energy and economic development opportunities. In this session, a few of NASEO’s state leaders share the outlook for energy markets, technologies, and priorities in their states.
Increasing the resilience of the electricity system, as one of the most critical infrastructure assets in the nation, is a top priority of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity. Join Assistant Secretary Bruce Walker to learn about strategies for enhancing mission-critical grid security and innovation, including through the recently announced Energy Storage Grand Challenge, the North American Energy Resiliency Model, and opportnuities to secure Defense-critical energy infrastructure.
Recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decisions – such as the December 2019 order to PJM to revise the rules for its wholesale electricity market – have a significant impact on state energy policy, continuing to blur the “bright line” between federal and state regulation. Hear Commissioner Richard Glick discuss recent developments and emerging issues at the Commission and the potential implications for states.
An increasing number of states are looking to rural communities and the agricultural sector to advance economic development, energy independence and resiliency, and climate change mitigation goals. This comes at a time when extreme weather and natural disasters are impacting rural communities and agricultural operations with greater frequency and intensity, creating uncertainty and new challenges. This panel will explore tools and best practices to help states understand these changes and support adaptation in rural communities, as well as opportunities to leverage agricultural operations to advance state economic development and climate goals.
The increasing prevalence of natural disasters, along with evolving consumer priorities and market demands, are propelling an uptick in investments that make facilities and communities more resilient. This panel discusses emerging methods to fund energy resilience improvements and, in turn, leverage the benefits of these projects to make financing more attractive – a virtuous cycle of improvement.
Increasing cyber threats and frequent severe weather events pose enormous risk to the nation’s energy infrastructure, underscoring the need for effective and robust state-federal collaboration on energy security. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) supports State Energy Offices in their energy security initiatives, including threat awareness and analysis; sector-wide response coordination; and energy assurance plan development, implementation, and execution. This session highlights CESER’s key priorities based on current threat intelligence and reviews ongoing and new federal energy security initiatives.
Deployment of new technologies and innovative technology applications offer an opportunity to reduce the amount of energy used by existing buildings while simultaneously providing additional services and improving occupant comfort. This panel will explore strategies for policymakers to deploy new approaches to energy efficiency retrofits and highlight technology-focused efforts led by the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program.
Unprecedented extreme weather challenges require new and unique industry and government responses. Planned interruptions of electricity, petroleum, and natural gas can be necessary, short-term solutions to long-term challenges, such as devastating wildfires and polar vortices. This panel examines sustainability and normalization of planned energy interruptions, options to mitigate the need for such actions over time, and the near-term solutions for states and the energy industry to utilize in communicating with the public.
Equity in energy policy is an emerging topic that assesses how vulnerable populations are affected by policy decisions. As State Energy Offices seek to build more equitable policies and programs, they may consider strengthening relationships with frontline communities and stakeholders in their state; examining how existing and future policies will affect underrepresented groups; and exploring creative potential policy alternatives. This session presents key resources and tools that can help State Energy Offices consider equity in the energy policymaking context.
This discussion, led by NASEO’s General Counsel, convenes experts to provide the latest news on Congressional priorities and national energy policy outlooks.
Across the nation, states are driving greater renewable power expansion through elevated Renewable Electricity Standards and targets. Grid integration challenges abound, as do longstanding regulatory barriers that should be modernized to reduce deployment costs, speed results, and address environmental quality commitments. This session looks at two key renewable power resources and the regulatory and permitting processes that are changing to help states meet their goals.
This essential Outlook session provides the latest news from the U.S. Department of Energy on the U.S. State Energy Program and Weatherization Assistance Program, and offers the chance for states to engage leadership of the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office.
The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) governmental member voting results are now available. The next iteration of the energy code was developed with significant participation by State Energy Offices and local governments and will have important changes in store for both the building industry and for energy and climate policymakers. This session describes what to expect from the 2021 IECC when the final version is published.
Last November, thousands of scientists from hundreds of nations signed on to a stark warning: “we declare unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” predicting “untold suffering” without major transformations to local and national economies. Many U.S. states are stepping up to confront the climate crisis through aggressive policymaking, in-depth stakeholder engagement, and innovative coalition-building. This session highlights State Energy Offices’ actions locally, nationally, and internationally to protect their communities and residents from the worsening impacts of climate change.
While nearly every state is investing in electric vehicles, and associated charging infrastructure, servicing medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles is becoming a greater focus. With electric buses, trucks, and fleet vehicles hitting the road in greater numbers, infrastructure will need to be tailored to the needs of these drivers. This session will look at this emerging market need, and how states are working with private firms to enable the electrification of these energy-intensive vehicles.
Refrigeration and climate control technologies touch many facets of daily life, from the spaces where people live, eat, and work to facilities that support public health, industrial and economic development, and transport. Much like the transition from Edison’s buld to LED lighting, commercially available solid state refrigeration technologies – no compressor needed – are arriving today. In this session, Phononic’s Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer discusses the promise of solid-state technologies, his company’s rapid ascent as an innovator and disruptor, and the implications of this historic advance for state and federal energy leaders.
Evolving and increasingly ambitious state energy, climate, workforce, and economic development goals have underscored the need for new and improved technologies deployed by the public and private sector at large scale. In this session, thought leaders from the states, federal government, and the policy community will set the stage for the 2020 Innovation Summit by discussing how and why state energy policymakers are a critical part of the rapidly evolving Innovation landscape.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is working to advance energy technology innovation and cost-competitiveness and to support and advance economic and workforce development. During this session, Assistant Secretary Daniel Simmons will highlight current EERE priorities and opportunities for potential collaboration between DOE and the states.
This panel discussion will highlight federal agencies’ investments in energy technology research and development and explore opportunities for collaboration among federal, state, and research partners.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratories play a critical role in advancing technologies for the U.S. clean energy economy. This session will highlight emerging technology advancements and the important work the labs do to bring innovations to market to solve pressing climate, energy, and economic challenges.
Community and state facilities and spaces offer opportunities for innovators to test, demonstrate, validate, and deploy new technologies. This session will introduce the concept of a “smart” community, underscore the importance of testing emerging technologies in real-world operational settings, and provide a deep-dive on efforts to accelerate intelligent mobility and reduce transportation energy use in Chattanooga, Tennessee through high-performance computing.
Network and learn about new and emerging technologies with State Energy Officials, technology innovators, federal representatives, and investors.
Investment is a crucial ingredient in clean technology innovation, commercialization, and deployment. Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a unique, investor-led fund dedicated to aligning capital, expertise, and stakeholders to advance climate solutions. In this session, Managing Director Jim Cabot will highlight the top priorities that guide Breakthrough Energy’s investments, as well as the critical need for technology, business, and policy innovation in tackling global climate and energy challenges.
Energy technology advancements can be harnessed to address pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges, including climate change, energy burden, and unequal access to well-paying jobs and careers. This session introduces key partners ensuring the benefits of clean tech investments extend not only to the traditional “early adopters,” but also to underserved and vulnerable individuals and communities.
States can play an integral role in bridging funding, financing, and technical assistance gaps for promising energy technologies. This session examines the “valleys of death” faced by innovators and the solutions that strategic financing and demonstration programs can offer.
The commercialization pathways for new energy technologies are often indirect. Innovators face both opportunities and pitfalls as early-stage concepts and technologies advance toward market. The session will examine the variety of program models that provide resources, mentorship, and assistance to entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Women and minoritized groups face greater hurdles in accessing energy technology innovation professions and investments. Through two short stories and illustrative case studies, this keynote presentation explores the need for a diversity-informed lens when developing policies and programs to level the playing field to result in a richer innovation ecosystem.
This session invites representatives of several U.S. Department of Energy technology offices to share their outlook for research, development, demonstration, and deployment and funding priorities in the coming year, and to highlight potential partnership opportunities with the State Energy Offices and their partners.
The California Energy Commission invests more than $200 million each year to accelerate scientific and technology solutions that support a cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more resilient energy system for the state. In this session, Commissioner Andrew McAllister presents an in-depth view of the Commission’s wide range of innovation programs, and how they support California’s ambitious climate, energy, and economic development goals.
This closing session synthesizse key takeaways from the 2020 Innovation Summit, which NASEO will use to inform its ongoing engagement of State Energy Offices, federal agencies, and congressional partners on clean energy technology innovation and policy.