Clean Energy Conversations

This session, created in collaboration between GreenBiz and CEBA, will feature small group discussions on a variety of topics, with time for people to join three half-hour tables. This is an opportunity to get deep on topics you care about and meet other people wrestling with the same challenges — or excited about the same opportunities.

 

Market Trends & Solutions: Room LL21E-F

100% RE, Emissionality, and 24/7 CFE, Oh My! // Shehzad Wadalawala and Matt Penfold, Verse // How do you determine the right goal for your business – and how do you develop a glide path to achieve it? What factors should you consider when developing a de-risked clean energy procurement strategy? This table will discuss how to define the optimal future-proofed clean energy strategy for your business.

 

AI for Energy Efficiency // Roger Thompson, IBM // The AI revolution is enabling climate tech solutions to scale faster but the processing power can require large amounts of energy. How can we achieve rapid adoption while ensuring energy efficiency? At this table we'll discuss the innovations and applications happening in this space.

 

Baseline Agrivoltaics: Moving Land Stewardship in Solar from a Nice-to-Have to a Must-Have // Melanie Kelly and Angela Burke, Pivot Energy // Many project development opportunities around the country can now feasibly support the incorporation of "agrivoltaics" practices. It's time to start making these practices standard instead of discretionary to more holistically achieve positive environmental outcomes in throughout the solar industry.

 

The Emerging Opportunity for Decarbonized Ammonia and Fertilizer // Patrick Molloy, RMI // Whether looking at fertilizer or fuel, ammonia is projected to play a role. This table will discuss the potential for development in the molecular space and address key challenges facing deployment.

 

Navigating the Clean Power Trilemma: How will you and your CXOs control costs, reduce risk and prove decarbonization impact in your 2023-2030 power purchasing efforts? // Neil Passero, American PowerNet // It is a seller’s market for clean power. Even the largest clean power buyers today are challenged in procuring auditable, clean power at competitive rates. What worked/did not work in 2018-present? What are energy buyers doing to navigate today's market? What might we anticipate from the markets in the next 2-5 years?

 

The Reliability Value of Energy Storage in Energy Transition // Yizhou Jing, Origis and Henry Richardson, WattTime // There have been increasing voices of concern about grid reliability in recent years and we have seen market reforms and new legislation trying to address those concerns (from TX SB1500 to CAISO's RA reforms). Should corporate customers play a bigger role in ensuring grid reliability through the procurement of energy storage or other dispatchable resources?

 

Renewable Thermal: Decarbonizing Low, Medium and High Temperature Industrial Heat // Ruth Checknoff, Renewable Thermal Collaborative & Marty Spitzer, WWF // Once the forgotten 13% wedge of U.S. emissions, industrial use of thermal energy is ripe for decarbonization. This table conversation discusses actionable pathways to decarbonize industrial process heat.

 

SBTi Call for Evidence on the Effectiveness of EACs: What does it mean? Why is it important? // Laura Vendetta, 3Degrees // The Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) launched a Call for Evidence on the Effectiveness of Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) to understand how market instruments help deliver real-world decarbonization and support corporate emission reduction claims. Learn about what type of evidence SBTi is looking for, how this could potentially impact the clean energy industry, how industry stakeholders can respond, and what others are doing to address this call for evidence.

 

The State of the Clean Energy Procurement in Asia and Growing Trends // Mingi Lim, CnerG // The demand for clean energy procurement in Asia is on the rise, with multinational corporations, SMEs, and governments all contributing to this growth. CnerG plays a pivotal role in consolidating the dispersed supply and demand for environmental commodities, streamlining the sourcing process for businesses. Discover the escalating trend in clean energy procurement in Asia, driven not only by corporate entities but also by the growing participation of local governments, which will have a substantial impact on shaping the market.

 

The Story of a KWh: Whole-building Approach to Energy Efficiency to Meet 2030 Emissions Reduction Targets // Francesca Altobelli, Budderfly // From new HVAC technology and architectures to increasingly-affordable solar, and other sources of renewable power, greener, smarter, more efficient energy infrastructure for commercial buildings is available—and there is a way to make it profitable: Energy-as-a-Service. While some decarbonization efforts will require reinventing the wheel on existing technology, energy efficiency can bring buildings to nearly net zero today. This session will explore how commercial properties with repeatable footprints are using and wasting energy and how to make sustainable energy equipment upgrades to better a business's bottom line.

 

The Time for Fusion is Now – Bringing Fusion Energy to Market // Greg Twinney, General Fusion // How will fusion power a clean energy future? A discussion on the path to commercialize fusion energy technology, looking at the industry’s recent technological advancements, global investment and collaborations, and what’s needed to deliver economical fusion power to the energy grid in the next decade.

 

Understanding Climate Products: History & Current Trends // Ben Rees, Evolution Markets // Categorize voluntary products by Scope, while highlighting the difference between climate accounting and climate products. Join this conversation to delve into current trends in product preferences and perceptions.

 

Where Matters: Integrating Deliverability into Voluntary Clean Energy Market Boundaries // Greg Miller, PhD, Singularity Energy, and Hallie Cramer, Google // Voluntary clean energy standards define market boundaries in order to guide where a buyer can source and claim clean energy matching against their electricity consumption. This conversation will explore the importance of integrating “deliverability” into market boundary definitions, tradeoffs with other key considerations, and new ways of thinking about how to measure deliverability with open-source models and data.

 

Decarbonization & Supply Chain: Room LL20D

Accelerating RE Procurement Throughout South Korea's Supply Chain // Jinsun Lee and Candice Blizzard, Solutions for Our Climate // Korea has been facing major barriers in increasing RE uptake, mostly due to fossil fuel-dominant and vertically integrated power market structure. Please join us to discuss how to tackle barriers to RE acceleration and how corporations can amplify their voices in the Korean power market.

 

Addressing Your Scope 3 Energy Footprint Across Globally Dispersed and Complex Supply Chains // Ricky Bush and Nick Fedorkiw, Powertrust and Evan Scandling, REI // Addressing your scope 3 energy footprint is difficult due to globally dispersed supply chains and also limited control because the emissions occur outside a company's direct operational control. We want to discuss different solutions to this, mainly through partially financing small distributed projects which can be sourced and aggregated across many markets, similar to how a company's supply chain is distributed.

 

Comparing Grid Carbon Intensity: From Asia Pacific to North America, and its Future Evolution // Emma He, S&P Global Commodity Insights // Power markets worldwide are undergoing fundamental shifts in their supply mix, and as a result, the carbon emission intensity of electric grids is evolving rapidly. These changes greatly impact the carbon footprint of corporations in these markets and their potential to achieve net-zero emissions in the future. The session will explore the outlook on emission intensity across global regions, highlighting key trends and their driving factors.

 

Effectively Deploying a Cross-Functional Energy Transition Strategy // Max Scher, Salesforce // What other tools do companies have in addition to purchasing, to drive power sector (scope 2) decarbonization? Discuss what's working for organizations, what's not, how to overcome barriers and seize opportunities to successfully manage this critical part of a sustainability strategy.

 

How do Small and Medium Sized Electricity Customers Find Clean Energy Buying Opportunities in Varied Markets? // Mark Pituch, U.S. Department of State // A discussion about how small and medium sized electricity customers find clean energy buying opportunities across various markets. What are best practices and lessons learned? Where are there opportunities?

 

Inflation Reduction Act & the Low Income Applied Credit Program - How it Works and What to Expect // Joe Fiori, Nexamp // The newly created Applied Low Income Credit program is one of the most exciting initiatives coming out of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. The program’s primary objective is to deliver benefits to the low-to-moderate income sector, by incentivizing projects that directly benefit underserved communities. Join this session to better understand how community solar will play an important role and brainstorm the ways in which corporates and other unique partnership structures can unlock value and deliver on the program’s stated objectives.

 

Opportunities and Roadblocks to System-level Grid Decarbonization // Alexandra Gorin, RMI // Load growth from datacenters, vehicle electrification, and manufacturing combined with natural disasters and long interconnection lead times are putting pressure on grids to maintain reliable, resilient service. This table will be an open forum to discuss some of the roadblocks and opportunities for accelerating system-level decarbonization.

 

Pathway to Scope 1 Reductions // Dino Caro, Constellation Energy // If your GHG reduction goals are not met after you eliminate Scope 2 emissions through green energy purchasing, what options are available to reach the goal? How much should be budgeted/planned for?

 

Power with Purpose: How to Accelerate a Clean, Green and Equitable Energy Future // Miranda Domico, The Nature Conservancy // Clean energy projects can provide tremendous benefits to climate, conservation, and community (3C) priorities; however, they can also drive significant conflicts that slow deployment if not developed with a purpose-driven approach. This table will discuss best practices to incentivize, maximize and scale these 3C benefits in clean energy projects.

 

Supply Chain Renewable Energy: VPPA and PPA Opportunities in APAC // Jessie Cai and Orrin Cook, Apala Group // Asia is a critical region for companies looking to meet supply chain renewable energy and decarbonization goals. Join Apala Group as we look at which markets present the best opportunities for your supply chain partners to source VPPAs and/or PPAs.

 

What’s a Buyer to Do: Navigating Market Boundary Constraints When There’s No Local EAC // Julie Casabianca, 3Degrees // Buyers need to follow market boundary criteria for procuring global, in-market EACs to meet international standards and initiatives; however, what should a buyer do when one doesn’t exist where you operate? This session will discuss considerations for a next best option when in-market options aren’t available, how to still align your purchase with your corporate goals, and how to ensure buyers are making impactful, purpose-driven clean energy procurement decisions.

 

Beyond the Megawatt: Room LL21C

Centering Low-income and BIPOC Communities in Renewable Project Development // Brittney Boyd, Solstice // How can we get clean energy to serve those who need the benefits the most? What would it look like for BIPOC communities to lead the clean energy transition? This table will talk about energy equity, innovative financial models and how to apply social enterprise opportunities into business models of all kinds.  

 

Driving Positive Social Impact Through Renewable Energy Procurements // Nicole Lim, BSR // Renewable energy projects can go beyond environmental benefits and generate positive social outcomes. This table will discuss how corporations can structure procurement deals and leverage their purchasing power to holistically include community engagement, local job creation and equitable access to clean energy.

 

An Equitable Transition to EVs // Alan Dowdell, Enel X Way // With the technology and incentives in place, EVs are becoming more common across the US. How do we ensure this is an equitable transition and no community is left behind? We must work together. Join Enel X Way for an engaging conversation about what are some of the solutions in place, how partners are working together to drive momentum, and hear about an initiative already underway that allows access to charging stations in low-income communities.

 

Existing Projects as Drivers of Community Impact and Additionality // Bianca Dragone, Rivian and Susanne Fratzscher, Sol Systems // Existing projects represent an overlooked opportunity to create value beyond the megawatt. Corporate buyers can drive social benefits within local communities while impacting long-term continued project viability by providing an additional revenue stream through RECs to a project and its community. Using a project-specific REC transaction as an example, discuss with Rivian and Sol Systems how you believe RECs and additionality can be reimagined, and what strategies can promote these new approaches internally and externally.

 

Exploring the Intersection Between Off Site Renewables and Hourly Carbon-free Energy // Ben Chadwick, Constellation // So you have off site renewable generation - how does that link up with the buzz around hourly carbon-free energy procurement? Join a conversation to discuss the intersection of these clean energy trends and what's coming next.

 

Scaling Purpose-Driven Procurement for Decarbonization & Human Impact // Sherwin Das and Dave Mozersky, Energy Peace Partners // A growing number of energy customers want solutions that help them maximize the grid decarbonization and positive human impact for every megawatt–hour of renewable energy they procure globally. In this conversation, customers will gain a greater understanding about the “Peace Renewable Energy Credit” (P-REC), a novel climate finance solution delivering critical additional revenue for high impact projects that helps expand carbon-free electricity access everywhere, namely climate-vulnerable countries that are most at-risk of conflict.

 

Procurement Insights & Actions: Room LL21D

Beyond 100% Renewable - The Next Frontier of Clean Energy Procurement // Natalie Valentin, Granular Energy and Bonnie Bueter, GSA // Energy buyers who have already achieved 100% renewable energy targets are looking towards the next frontier of impact. Should organizations strive to consume clean energy 24/7? Source from newer assets? Focus on deliverability? Procure from the dirtiest grids? Prioritize biodiversity or local economic impact? Come share your perspective and learn about emerging trends.

 

How Mid-size Businesses Finance Their Energy Transition // Karen Baum, BDO // Mid-size businesses make up a substantive part of the market and have different needs when it comes to procuring energy, investing in renewable projects and other steps taken to decarbonize their footprint. This table will discuss the related challenges and opportunities for operating sustainably in this space.

 

Simplifying Clean Energy Purchase Agreements //Dan O'Brien, DSD Renewables // Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are a relatively standard financial mechanism that allows property owners to recognize energy savings without any capital expenses. This table will discuss additional opportunities within the PPA mechanism to extract even more value and alternative agreements like Leases that offer site owners new revenue streams.

 

Small but Mighty: Community Solar’s Role in Achieving Corporate Clean Energy Goals // Rupak Thapaliya, Reactivate // Focus: Community solar is a great tool that can not only help corporates achieve clean energy goals but also provide tangible co-benefits to local communities. Learn and discuss how corporations are using this tool to reach their clean energy and CSR goals.

 

VPPA Alternatives - Strike Prices are High, Market Prices are Low, Offtaker Risk is Growing, What's next? // Steve Willins, World Kinect Energy Services // VPPA prices are more than double from 2 years ago. Market pricing spiked in 2022 but bottomed out again in 2023. Current, forward and forecast prices are not supportive of current VPPA fixed prices. What are the alternatives for a buyer to achieve its renewable energy / carbon reduction goals?

 

VPPAs for Distributed Energy Resources // McGee Young, WattCarbon // Options for clean energy procurement have largely been limited to supply side resources, but distributed energy resources that power Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are seen as the greatest enabler of future clean energy deployment by shifting the time of day in which energy is consumed. Learn how vPPAs for DERs can power the next generation of clean energy deployment at lower cost and higher impact than traditional supply side resources.