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VERGE Event Program

VERGE Program available for download

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Grid 2.0

Bringing efficient, low-carbon power to market.

Monday, Sep 19, 2016
8:30am to 4:30pm
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GRID Alternatives Solar Workday (sign up required)

Tutorial

This is a one-day solar volunteer opportunity with GRID Alternatives and a great team-building and educational experience. Up to ten volunteers will be installing a PV solar system with non-profit GRID Alternatives for a low-income family in San Jose, California. Get up on the roof to help install the panels, be part of the ground crew, or a little of both. Tools, hardhats, and step-by-step guidance are provided by the very skilled GRID Alternatives staff.

Please fill out this form and we will send you confirmation details or place you on our wait list you if all spots are filled. The Build Day Volunteer Opportunity has space for 10 volunteers maximum.

The Build Day will be held Monday September 19th, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm in San Jose (we will let volunteers know the exact location upon confirmation).

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

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1:30pm to 4:30pm
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Innovation and Electric Power Markets

Tutorial
Grand Ballroom A

In an updated reprise of one of VERGE's most popular tutorials, participants will learn the rationale and basic framework of competitive power and regulated markets, including variations between regional markets; gain insight into how power markets affect end-use customers, both now and in the future; and look at new and emerging technologies and business models affecting power market dynamics and customer relationships.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0

Speakers

  • Peter Kelly-Detwiler

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Designing and Deploying Microgrids to Create Value

Tutorial
Grand Ballroom B

In 2015, all major industry analysts revised their projections upward for microgrid market growth. Utility, corporate and community adoption are all up. And yet the benefits of microgrids aren’t yet fully understood. In this workshop, leading industry experts will explain the similarities and differences among microgrids, on-site solar, battery energy storage, CHP, and/or back-up generation, as well as how to cost-effectively design, build and operate microgrids to capture a variety of benefits.

By attending this interactive session you will –

  • Understand the different types and benefits of microgrids
  • Learn about microgrid deployments in the US
  • Learn how to build a microgrid – leveraging two models that support two different classes of microgrid
  • Learn how to leverage tools to design a microgrid
  • Learn about real-life microgrids – design to operation
  • Understand different financing models
  • Get a hands-on view of a real microgrid
  • Network with microgrid experts and other stakeholders interested in microgrids

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Peter Asmus
  • Sunil Cherian
  • Steve Pullins
  • Urs Gisiger
  • Mike Murray
  • Brian Levite
  • John Westerman

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Tuesday, Sep 20, 2016
8:40am to 8:55am
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Prosperity, Security, Sustainability

Plenary

The President of the University of California and former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security shares her vision for turning the state’s world-class university system into an exemplar of climate readiness, responsibility and resilience.

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • Janet Napolitano
  • Joel Makower

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8:55am to 9:05am
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VERGE Talk: Leading the Journey to Global Resource Transformation

Plenary

How can the Internet of Things and cloud computing drive a broad scale global transformation in resource use across multiple sectors simultaneously? And why will this lead to a reinvention of how we view and manage the planet’s limited resources?

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • Rob Bernard

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9:05am to 9:30am
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Creating Tomorrow's Clean Energy System

Plenary

Around the world — in North America, Europe, China and beyond — the largest economies are undergoing energy transformations, each with its own politics, technologies, challenges and opportunities. Here are the visions from two of the leading thinkers on our energy future.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Rainer Baake

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9:40am to 10:05am
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Transcendence - How Virtual Reality Will Change the World

Plenary

Virtual Reality dates to the 1950s, but 2016 is its seminal moment. With the launch of consumer VR systems we are entering a new reality of how we experience and interface with our technology. It's not just entertainment: VR offers the potential to fundamentally change how we learn, interact, and recover through a variety of potential applications in academia, healthcare, advocacy and industry. This briefing will explore some possible ways VR can accelerate the sustainable economy.

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • Roy Taylor
  • Nonny de la Peña
  • Heather Clancy

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10:05am to 10:30am
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VERGE Accelerate: Startup Showcase

Plenary

A pitch competition that provides entrepreneurs in energy, buildings, transportation, supply chains, water, food, and cities the opportunity to present to the diverse VERGE community: executives from the world's largest companies, public officials from progressive cities, venture capitalists, and others.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Shana Rappaport
  • Dawn Lippert
  • Tim Woodward

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11:00am to 11:10am
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VERGE Talk: Seeing is Believing — Visualizing Hawaii’s Path to 100% Renewables

Plenary

Hawaii is building a state-of-the-art, 3D visual computing environment that lets users move through patterns of energy data in real time. The virtual reality tool supports the state’s course towards 100-percent renewable energy by turning massive streams of data into imagery for utility planners and engineers and other energy stakeholders. Taking advantage of declining costs and a global trend towards grid parity, Hawaii is pioneering this collaborative planning paradigm to minimize cost and risk while maximizing the overall efficiency of grid investments and resource options.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Mark Glick

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11:10am to 11:30am
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The Changing Face of Distributed Energy

Plenary

The world of clean and distributed energy solutions is leading to new partnerships and service models among energy producers, equipment providers and energy consumers. These partnerships can provide benefits beyond low-carbon and efficient energy systems, but also can produce productivity gains and other business benefits. 

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Maryrose Sylvester
  • Mark Vanderhelm
  • John Davies

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11:30am to 11:45am
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Dishing the Dirt on a Clean Energy Future

Plenary

An outspoken, often contrarian entrepreneur and a visionary cleantech investor explore such provocative questions as when residential solar might make economic sense in the U.S.; whether distributed solar and distributed storage are friends, foes or both; and whether Elon Musk’s vision for an electrified future is brilliant or diabolical.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Jigar Shah
  • Andrew Beebe

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12:25pm to 12:45pm
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The Circular Economy Gets Down to Business

Plenary

In just a few short years, the circular economy has gone from a movement to a market. Here’s how large and legacy companies are approaching the transition.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Ellen MacArthur
  • Kate Brandt
  • Cyrus Wadia
  • Joel Makower

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12:30pm to 5:30pm
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Utility of the Future Summit (by invitation only)

Working Session
Meeting Rooms 209/ 210

A half-day, invitation-only interactive summit focusing on disruptive market shifts, evolving business models and new technologies needed to bring affordable, renewable power to market in a disparate policy and regulatory environment. Utilities, corporate energy executives, independent power producers, solution providers and government officials will participate in a facilitated discussion to identify opportunities and barriers for adapting to a shifting energy marketplace.

To learn more and request an invitation, please refer to this page.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

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1:45pm to 2:45pm
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Mining the Sky: Turning CO2 Emissions from Liability to Asset

Breakout
Grand Ballroom H
Meeting ambitious international climate targets will require decarbonization of all sectors, including manufacturing and heavy industry beyond power generation. While these corners of the economy have traditionally been difficult to scrub of CO2 emissions in a cost-effective manner, a growing field of innovators are working to transform industrial CO2 emissions into a valuable input for making clean fuels, chemicals and building materials like plastics and cement. This session will explore the promising advances in industrial carbon management and the potential for emerging technologies to transform heavy industry into leading force for climate action.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Noah Deich
  • Jeff Erikson
  • Nicholas Eisenberger
  • Nicholas Flanders

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Circular Economy and the Built Environment

Breakout
Grand Ballroom D

Three Circular Economy practitioners working at different scales will relay how they are applying a Circular Economy perspective to designing buildings and developments, and planning for entire infrastructure systems and regions. This interactive discussion with the audience will explore what the obstacles are to wholesale transformation of the built environment - both existing and new elements, and how architects, engineers, planners, owners and users can have the greatest impact on making this paradigm shift. 

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Aidan Hughes
  • Mary Davidge
  • Holly Kaufman
  • Owen Zachariasse

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Your Brain on Virtual Reality: Deep Dive on Sustainability Benefits

Breakout
Grand Ballroom A

A discussion with some of the country's leading Virtual Reality (VR) researchers and practitioners on VR's potential sustainability benefits, practical and potential applications, and how you can get started.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Roy Taylor
  • Arno Hartholt
  • Dan O’Brien
  • Deniz Ergürel

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Hacking Your Own Company

Breakout
Grand Ballroom G

When the status quo isn't working, how do you disrupt business processes at your own company or even industries at large? This session explores lessons from several respected real estate executives, discussing how technology has accelerated and hindered their efforts and framing the steps to "hack" your own company (i.e., changing your business and industry from the inside out).

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings

Speakers

  • Sara Neff
  • Jacquelynn Henke
  • Aaron Binkley
  • Heather Clancy

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3:00pm to 4:00pm
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Net Zero Energy: Scaling it to the Mainstream

Breakout
Grand Ballroom D

The net zero energy narrative has arrived at a critical and exciting juncture:  early models, proof of concept, ecosystem design knowhow, an array of technology solutions, and initial policy directives are all in place.  The core question now is, how do we scale up this critical climate solution into the mainstream?  This session of national caliber net zero energy practitioners and advocates will look briefly at the state of the art in net zero energy, and then take a deep dive into what key elements are needed to make this the new normal in construction and energy use.

 

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Kirk Myers
  • Brad Liljequist
  • Clay Nesler
  • Andrea Traber

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Cybersecurity for Connected Infrastructure

Breakout
Grand Ballroom A

We are increasingly connected through, and reliant on, digital infrastructure to drive innovation and expedite efficiency. Yet the digital age has also accelerated the threat of cyber disruptions and increased the available attack surface of critical assets, networks and systems that sustain a nation’s safety and prosperity. With the increasingly interconnected nature of our critical national infrastructure, the impact of a cyberattack on a power distribution network could be wide-ranging and costly for both society and the economy.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Marshall Chase
  • Matt Swibel
  • Harry Lightsey

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Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016
8:35am to 9:00am
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Why Energy Should Be a C-Suite Priority

Plenary

Energy is one of the biggest operational expense line items for many businesses, but has received little attention from C-suite decision makers. Even as more enterprises make public commitments to energy reduction, many still delegate energy management to site-level managers with little insight into its impact on the broader business strategy. And while CEOs are making big demands of their teams to understand how these trends impact areas like talent acquisition, supply chain management, and R&D, few are connecting the dots back to energy. In this session, experts reveal research into emerging leading practices in energy and how to effectively engage the C-suite in energy strategy.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Tim Healy
  • George Favaloro
  • Heather Clancy

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9:00am to 9:10am
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VERGE Talk: Leveraging Technology for Corporate Responsibility

Plenary

Growth in population and increased urbanization will require more and better lighting in the years ahead. Global population is expected to jump by almost 40% by 2050, and two-thirds will live in cities, where demand for lighting is greatest. Resource constraints and realities of climate change have increased demand for greater energy efficiency. Here’s how lighting and the Internet of Things are addressing this challenge.

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Nicola Kimm

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9:10am to 9:20am
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VERGE Talk: Why Clean Technology is a Trillion Dollar Business Opportunity

Plenary

One of the tech world’s iconic innovators shares some ground-breaking new solar energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage technologies, and with that, why clean technology remains a staggering opportunity today.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Bill Gross

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9:20am to 9:45am
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Energy Equity: How Community Power Empowers Communities

Plenary

The poorest 20% of our neighbors pay the most for electricity - 10% of total household income. Community solar will transform access to affordable clean energy for low income households if we deploy equitable project finance models that scale with the market instead of depending on subsidies. Learn about emerging project development and finance models that are empowering urban and rural communities.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Michelle Moore
  • Kimberly Lewis
  • Trenton Allen
  • Harold Mitchell, Jr.

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9:45am to 9:55am
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VERGE Talk: The Triple-Bottom-Line Case for IoT

Plenary

The Internet of Things (IoT) has changed the way we connect and interact with the world, from wellness and health monitoring to smart utility meters, integrated logistics, and self-driving cars. What is the potential impact beyond “things” — on our workforce, our communities and the way in which we work? Hewlett Packard Labs has been asking these questions. Learn how they are harnessing IoT innovations to drive solutions that work for both people and the planet. 

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Amip Shah

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9:55am to 10:20am
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Beyond Panels and Turbines

Plenary

Increasingly, renewable energy technologies are moving from standalone solutions to integrated systems that align companies energy, finance, operation and resilience objectives. As the number of clean-energy solutions grows, so do the opportunities to create a portfolio of approaches — including both onsite and offsite wind and solar systems. In this conversation, a leading independent power producer and one of its largest customers discuss the secrets of their success.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Rob Gaudette
  • Ramé Hemstreet
  • Joel Makower

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10:20am to 10:30am
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VERGE Talk: Accelerating the Clean Energy Revolution through Connected and Automated Technology

Plenary

Technologies that connect and automate our daily lives can bring mobility and convenience, but they can also drive up energy use and emissions. The head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will share his vision for how we can break down market and organizational barriers to ensure that connected and automated cars, infrastructure, and technology solutions deliver on their promised benefits while playing a critical role in building a low-carbon economy. He will challenge stakeholders from every sector to invest in the cross-sector research, partnerships and policy choices needed to tap into connected and automated technology to accelerate a energy revolution that’s been underway for nearly a decade.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • David Friedman

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11:00am to 11:20am
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VERGE Talk: The WTF Economy - What's the Future?

Plenary

What's the future of work? While engaging some of the world's smartest people in fields as diverse as robotics, AI, the on-demand economy, and the economics of labor, Silicon Valley's leading intellectual describes the key drivers of some of today’s most successful startups and about what technology like driverless cars, Siri, Google Now, Microsoft Cortana, and IBM Watson teach us about the future; specifically, how he's starting to see their connections and how this will catalyze positive action across all industries.

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • Tim O'Reilly

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11:20am to 11:35am
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Technology, Social Innovation, and Things that Matter

Plenary

A 20+ year sustainability executive talks about the intersection of technology and sustainability in the context of social innovation and the opportunities that microgrids provide to accelerate corporates and community resilience. 

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Erica Hauver
  • Eric Faurot

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11:35am to 12:00pm
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How Technology Accelerates Resilient Cities

Plenary

In the new, resilient city, the role of technology is everywhere,  from traffic sensors and smart lighting systems to apps providing access to city services to the broad populace. What does it take to deploy technology and harness data in a way that enhances city services and serves all residents, all while saving money?

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Jen Pahlka
  • Kiran Jain
  • Eric Faurot

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12:15pm to 12:30pm
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VERGE Talk: A New “Grand Strategy” for Resilience

Plenary

A story about the inception of a new grand strategy for the U.S., born at the Pentagon, that embeds sustainability as a strategic national imperative and as the underpinning for an economic revival in America — one that can make us economically stronger, more secure and resilient and improve our standing in the world.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Joel Makower
  • Mark Mykleby

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1:45pm to 2:45pm
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Corporate Renewable Buying for the Mainstream

Breakout
Grand Ballroom C

While corporations have over-taken the utilities as the primary buyers of utility-scale renewable energy (RE), there are only a limited number of large corporate buyers that can off-take entire wind and solar farms.  This may limit how much corporates can grow the RE market unless we can find a model that works for the “corporate down-market”, meaning the vast majority of companies with no in-house expertise; small, distributed power loads; and no owned roof-top real estate.  How can these firms implement ambitious clean energy goals both strategically and economically?  A panel of experts offers insights.   

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0

Speakers

  • Hervé Touati
  • Jacob Susman
  • Patrick Flynn
  • Nicola Peill-Moelter

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Empowering Communities with Equitable Community Power

Breakout
Grand Ballroom G

Dive deep into community organizing and equitable finance strategies that are empowering low and moderate income households to develop their own clean power. Explore the connections between energy equity, economic empowerment, and the green building and green faith movements. Understand the different regulatory and market context for serving rural and urban America.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Michelle Moore
  • Trenton Allen
  • Kimberly Lewis
  • Harold Mitchell, Jr.

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Emerging Practices for Transforming Your Organization’s Energy Management Approach

Breakout
Grand Ballroom D

Dozens of frameworks help organizations run more-efficient buildings, yet few if any look outside the four walls of a facility and establish best practices for how organizations should think about energy management in today’s global environment. This session will highlight four areas of emerging best practices to help you build a more nimble and resilient energy management strategy that creates both short- and long-term business value.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Fielder Hiss
  • Susan Hunt Stevens
  • Zeke Hart
  • Heather Clancy

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3:00pm to 4:00pm
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Technologies Driving Energy Business Model Transformation

Breakout
Grand Ballroom D

For decades the energy industry functioned in the same way as it always did. Technology that changed nearly every facet of our lives and business didn’t affect energy suppliers. Those days are over and best-in-class energy companies are now realizing that they must embrace technology. Not only do customers demand it, but they also can streamline their business using new technologies. Those companies that do not begin to modify their business models with new technologies will be left behind. This discussion is for anyone who makes energy management decisions (e.g., facility managers, cities, business owners, corporate sustainability execs) who want to learn how new technologies provided by energy retailers can help support their energy and sustainability initiatives.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Noah Goldstein
  • Safi Oranski
  • Ashok Tipirneni
  • Charles Basso

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After Paris: Catalyzing a New Chapter of Corporate Renewables Purchasing Globally

Breakout
Grand Ballroom C

The U.S. C&I off-site solar and wind PPA market grew massively, from near zero in 2012 to over 3 GW in 2015, contributing at its peak about 75% of US wind power offtake in Q4-2015. Many of the same multi-national companies and new entrants have global RE targets and are stepping up to support the Paris Agreement. Thus, companies around the world have their sights set on similar procurement mechanisms for their international facilities. However, varying challenges persist, such as grid instability or insufficient/nonexistent market mechanisms, separating large-scale corporate renewable energy procurement interests from actual execution of deals. This panel will explore what is needed to change and create corporate RE power marketplaces in high-emitting countries to catalyze a new era in global corporate offtake of large-scale renewable energy projects. Specific new opportunities, such as the new Interprovencial Transaction Center (the other "ITC") in China, will be addressed.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings

Speakers

  • Rob Threlkeld
  • Hervé Touati
  • Justin Wu
  • Marty Sedler
  • David Hughes

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Designing for Circularity

Breakout
Grand Ballroom G

How we design products, processes, and systems are key leverage points for advancing the circular economy from concept to reality. This session will explore the principles of designing for circularity, and how they can be applied to product development, materials sourcing, manufacturing, and supply-chain management  You will hear from innovative companies that are putting principles into action, using the Cradle to Cradle approach. Together, we’ll identify challenges and opportunities, and reflect how you can help activate these principles in your company and accelerate circular design in your industry, and world.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Marisa Guber
  • Lewis Perkins
  • Marissa Yao
  • Owen Zachariasse

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4:30pm to 5:30pm
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Unraveling the Network of Urban Networks

Breakout
Grand Ballroom C

Of the many networks that have been created to support smart and resilient city initiatives, how are they working for cities thus far? What's been learned? And what is still needed to support the transition to stronger public-private collaborations to accelerate actionable solutions?

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Melanie Nutter
  • Nils Moe
  • David Driskell
  • David Graham
  • Adam Freed

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The Energy Blockchain: Catalyzing a Truly Distributed Grid

Breakout
Grand Ballroom A

Using math and cryptography, the blockchain is an open, decentralized database of every transaction involving value, and is an emerging buzzword in the energy industry. At a time when companies face new challenges in data management and security, blockchain represents a way to let companies make and verify transactions on a network instantaneously without a central authority. Experts are now asking if it can be used to track the flow of electrons on a distributed grid. Learn how energy and technology companies are working together to make the "energy blockchain" a reality.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Shilpi Kumar
  • Alex Zinder
  • Reid Williams
  • Dave Bartlett
  • Heather Clancy

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Electrifying Everything: Accelerating Clean Transportation Infrastructure

Breakout
Grand Ballroom B

What will it take to accelerate a clean energy infrastructure? And specifically how will electrifying our transportation system play a key part? Key energy stakeholders from California and Hawaii discuss the challenges and opportunities on the pathway toward 100% renewables.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • John Gartner
  • Commissioner Hochschild
  • Danny Kennedy
  • Jana Corey
  • Veronica Rocha

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Unlocking the Next-Gen Grid Through Distributed Energy Partnerships

Breakout
Grand Ballroom D

Creating robust, grid-connected, utility-scale renewable energy projects often requires multi-party partnerships that knit together disparate technologies. In this case study, learn how PG&E teamed with SolarCity, GE, Enphase Energy and Green Charge Networks in San Jose to advance integration of distributed energy resources such as solar and battery storage, further unlocking benefits of the next-gen grid.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Russ Griffith
  • Jayant Kumar
  • Ryan Hanley
  • Mark Triplett
  • Mark Esguerra

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Thursday, Sep 22, 2016
8:50am to 9:00am
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VERGE Talk: Using Data to Generate Economic Value

Plenary

The inspiring data-driven story of how a sleepy residential community transformed itself into an innovation ecosystem.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Debbie Acosta

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9:35am to 9:45am
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VERGE Talk: How the Maker Movement Democratizes Innovation

Plenary

It’s not just about “doing it yourself,” or about how things get made. The maker movement is about revolutionizing how we reimagine things, prototype them and distribute them to the world. Here's what it means to the manufacturing, tech and retail sectors.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Mark Hatch

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9:45am to 10:05am
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Igniting Innovation to Combat Climate Change

Plenary

A conversation between two veteran cleantech leaders about the role of investment, technology breakthroughs, and commercial scale up in driving innovation to mitigate climate change.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Nancy Pfund
  • Andrew Shapiro

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10:05am to 10:30am
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VERGE Accelerate: Startup Showcase

Plenary

A pitch competition that provides entrepreneurs in energy, buildings, transportation, supply chains, water, food, and cities the opportunity to present to the diverse VERGE community: executives from the world's largest companies, public officials from progressive cities, venture capitalists, and others.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Circular Economy

Speakers

  • Shana Rappaport
  • Lila Preston
  • John Picard

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11:00am to 11:25am
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Energy Security Meets National Security

Plenary

The former CEO of NRG Energy, now a clean-energy investor, and the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy discuss how clean and distributed energy systems in the developing world engenders national security, regional resilience and sustainable development.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • David Crane
  • Dennis McGinn
  • Joel Makower

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11:35am to 11:45am
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VERGE Talk: From Rural Uganda to Global Impact - Changing the World One Life at a Time

Plenary

Sometimes all it takes is someone to believe in your vision and solution. That was true for Ategeka, and now he's created a platform to help entrepreneurs around the world.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Christopher Ategeka

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11:55am to 12:10pm
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VERGE Talk: Radical Planetary Optimism

Plenary

Climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, air pollution. We’re up against huge threats. But history and the trends of technology show that we can turn the corner. As clean energy and clean transportation plunge in price, as biotechnology revolutionizes our understanding of the natural world, and as the developing world reaches the demographic transition, a world of greater prosperity with less impact on the planet becomes possible. Make no mistake: The state of the environment will get worse before it gets better. But we can innovate our way past this crisis, and into a future far better than humanity has ever seen.

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • Ramez Naam

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12:10pm to 12:30pm
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Project Breakthrough: Exponential Solutions to Global Goals

Plenary

Change has become the only constant for business. As an old economic order unravels and a new one emerges, Project Breakthrough, a new joint venture between Volans and the UN Global Compact, is exploring how the transformation necessary to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals will come not from linear, incremental improvements, but from radical, exponential disruptions. Here are the business models, technologies and mindsets at the vanguard of this new opportunity space. 

Tracks

  • Circular Economy
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities
  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems

Speakers

  • John Elkington
  • Joel Makower

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2:00pm to 3:00pm
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Is Storage the Holy Grail?

Breakout
Grand Ballroom A

Energy storage has been called the ultimate solution to scaling renewable energy. As the technology steadily improves, it will be up to regulators to enact protocols, regulations and other mechanisms that will enable batteries to reach their fullest potential.

Tracks

  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Ramez Naam
  • Audrey Lee
  • Farid Dibachi
  • Greg Callman
  • Alex Luce

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Creating a Renewably Powered Data Center Infrastructure

Breakout
Grand Ballroom H

Many organizations that use data center colocation or cloud services are considering ways to work with service providers to achieve their sustainability and renewable energy goals. This session focuses on the Future of Internet Power’s “Corporate Colocation and Cloud Buyers’ Principles,” designed to effectively respond to business demands for continuous data access and agility at low cost and environmental impact. It will demonstrate how the principles help organizations showcase good environmental stewardship, and how they are being utilized in a new data center in Oregon.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings

Speakers

  • Kelly Gallo
  • Julian Kudritzki
  • John Sheputis
  • Sonu Nayyar

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3:30pm to 4:30pm
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Navigating On-Site and Off-Site Renewables Opportunities

Breakout
Grand Ballroom C

A deep dive with several corporate clean energy stakeholders (owners, developers, providers) to share their experiences, frameworks, and lessons as they seek to integrate more clean energy across their portfolios — discussing the trade-offs and opportunities of on-site and off-site renewables.

Tracks

  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings

Speakers

  • Mary Sotos
  • Blaine Collison
  • Rob Threlkeld

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Shared Vulnerabilities: Solutions to Leverage Water's Interconnections across Sectors

Breakout
Grand Ballroom G

Today's water utility sector is increasingly investing time in understanding its vulnerabilities, but there are shared vulnerabilities across sectors, including power and infrastructure. Both failure and benefits are shared. How to best leverage this water-energy infrastructure nexus?

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Paul Fleming
  • Josiah Cain
  • Cynthia Koehler
  • Michael McCormick
  • Steve Nygren

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Two-Way Street: What Off Grid Countries Can Teach The Rest of the World

Breakout
Grand Ballroom A

How are developing countries creating clean energy infrastructure best practices that can be brought back to developed economies?  This panel will share ways they are pioneering energy technology and financial innovations from the developing world and translate these learnings to ‘modern’ economies.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Food and Water Systems
  • Connected Transportation
  • Grid 2.0
  • Next-Gen Buildings
  • Smart and Resilient Cities

Speakers

  • Susan Gladwin
  • Andy Bogdan Bindea
  • Justin Guay
  • Sandra Kwak
  • David Crane

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