October 22, 2024
Frontier Forum

October 22, 2024 1:00 PM
October 22, 2024
ET
Virtual
Frontier Forum

Why utilities should go big on VPPs

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How DERs can deliver the flexibility that the grid needs

About

Facing acute load growth challenges, aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and a surge of electrification, utilities urgently need to unlock new solutions to deliver grid flexibility.

According to a recent report from RMI, virtual power plants could reduce peak demand in the U.S. by 60 GW by 2030 — and by 200 GW by 2050. 

Still, across the industry, misconceptions about VPPs persist. 

Cross-DER Edge DERMS provider EnergyHub, which helps utilities grow and manage grid-aware VPPs at scale, is proving that VPPs can meet load growth and be as reliable as traditional power plants.

In this Frontier Forum, we’ll explore common misconceptions about VPPs, including that the resource can only be used for bulk grid demand response. The conversation will help frame the wide range of use cases for VPPs, and the value they can provide to utilities and customers during this critical moment of change.

Kerri Carnes of Arizona Public Service will highlight the utility’s use of 90,000 DERs for managing the grid in extreme heat. Carnes and EnergyHub co-founder Seth Frader-Thompson will also look at other types of VPPs in operation around the country, and examine what the VPP landscape could look like in five to ten years.

We’ll answer questions like: how reliable are VPPs? What are the most successful deployments? And what will it take for more teams across the utility to trust and integrate them into their planning and operations?

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About

Facing acute load growth challenges, aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and a surge of electrification, utilities urgently need to unlock new solutions to deliver grid flexibility.

According to a recent report from RMI, virtual power plants could reduce peak demand in the U.S. by 60 GW by 2030 — and by 200 GW by 2050. 

Still, across the industry, misconceptions about VPPs persist. 

Cross-DER Edge DERMS provider EnergyHub, which helps utilities grow and manage grid-aware VPPs at scale, is proving that VPPs can meet load growth and be as reliable as traditional power plants.

In this Frontier Forum, we’ll explore common misconceptions about VPPs, including that the resource can only be used for bulk grid demand response. The conversation will help frame the wide range of use cases for VPPs, and the value they can provide to utilities and customers during this critical moment of change.

Kerri Carnes of Arizona Public Service will highlight the utility’s use of 90,000 DERs for managing the grid in extreme heat. Carnes and EnergyHub co-founder Seth Frader-Thompson will also look at other types of VPPs in operation around the country, and examine what the VPP landscape could look like in five to ten years.

We’ll answer questions like: how reliable are VPPs? What are the most successful deployments? And what will it take for more teams across the utility to trust and integrate them into their planning and operations?

Watch the recording:
featured speakers
Agenda
8:00 AM -  8:45 AM  
Registration and networking breakfast
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
Welcome, and opening comments from Latitude Media
Kicking off Transition-AI with an overview of our coverage of the space, key themes in the market in 2024, and the plan for the conference
Stephen Lacey, Latitude Media
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
An AI-in-energy outlook for 2025
Matt Casey, Latitude Intelligence
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Keynote interview - AI's impact on data center energy strategies
With data center capacity expected to double, the industry is scrambling to secure enough power to meed demand. This is quickly reshaping energy procurement strategies, efforts to expand the grid, and regulation. In this keynote interview, Peter Freed will discuss the sweeping impacts coming for the grid in the AI era.
Stephen Lacey, Latitude Media
Peter Freed, Former Director of Energy, Meta
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Networking Break
10:45 AM - 11:45 PM
Panel session - Meeting the load growth challenge
A panel discussion diving deep into the outlook for load growth driven by data center demand from AI, how utilities, developers, and system operators are responding, with a goal of understanding the forces shaping this space are playing out today and how they must change in the future.
Jeremy Renshaw, EPRI
Page Crahan, Google X - Tapestry
Chris Shelton, AES
Amanda Peterson Corio, Google
11 :45 AM- 12:15 PM
In conversation - Building an AI startup ecosystem for energy
AES and the AI Fund have created a strategic partnership to fund startups focused on bringing AI to the energy industry. In this conversation, Latitude Media reporter Maeve Allsup with talk with Julia Lundin of AES and Abid Siddiqui of the AI Fund to learn more about how they see the partnership evolving, what white space they've identified in the AI-for-energy market, and how they are supporting startups in their development to bring innovative solutions to market.
Julia Lundin, AES
Abid Siddiqui, AI Fund
Maeve Allsup, Latitude Media
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Lunch
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM
Fireside chat - The DOE's approach to the AI-energy nexus
Conversation on the interplay between policy, technology, and markets in the AI-for-Energy space with leadership of the DOE's energy and AI work.
Lisa Martine Jenkins, Latitude Media
Helena Fu, DOE
Charles Yang, DOE
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
Interactive workshop - Digitalization and the future of the utility
In this interactive workshop, attendees will hear from Mark Waclawiak of Avangrid on the ongoing and necessary process of digitalization at utilities to lay the foundation for vastly improved operations, management, grid visibility and service deployment. Attendees will then have an opportunity to brainstorm and discuss ideas for what full digitalization could enable and how AI can play a role in new service and application development.
Mark Waclawiak, Avangrid
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Panel session - Progress and challenges in implementing AI across the utility
Leaders from utilities across the US discuss how they have been evaluating, developing, investing in, and implementing AI-driven solutions in the past year. Sharing lessons learned, best practices, progress towards KPIs, and early results, these utilities will provide critical insight into where AI can drive real ROI, and where more work needs to be done to clarify which areas are best served by AI.
Erin Hardick, Latitude Media
Kevin Jones, Dominion Energy
Raghu Madabushi, National Grid Partners
Jun Zhao, Eversource
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Networking Break
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
Panel session - Challenges and opportunities with AI-powered grid visibility
The proliferation of renewables, energy storage, EVs and other DERs has dramatically increased the complexity of load and distribution management for utilities. Panelists will discuss the various ways AI could help alleviate some of the strain felt by utilities, including improved situational awareness, load detection and disaggregation, optimized planning with enhanced forecasts, and customer behavior predictions. The panel will also examine the existing challenges holding back AI-enabled grid-visibility solutions and the roadblocks that must be navigated to enable widespread deployment.
Angela Kassahun, Utilidata
Josh Wong, ThinkLabs
Matt Casey, Latitude Intelligence
Ruth Scotti, Energy Innovation Advisor
4:45 PM - 5:30 PM
Panel Session - Designing the future AI data center
Panelists will describe how new data center designs can both address the load growth challenge of utilities and the need for speed, scale, and efficiency among data center operators.
Sayles Braga, Sidewalk Infra. Partners
Chase Lochmiller, Crusoe
Stephen Lacey, Latitude Media
John Belizaire, Soluna
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Reception
event details
Why utilities should go big on VPPs

Tuesday, October 22

1:00PM - 2:00PM ET

Latitude Media Frontier Forums are live, interactive conversations and presentations that showcase frontier trends in clean energy and climate technology. These virtual events feature timely, in-depth conversations between leading voices in the industry and Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey, as well as interactive Q&A sessions with attendees.

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Sponsors
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About Transition-AI
Why utilities should go big on VPPs

Tuesday, October 22

1:00PM - 2:00PM ET

Latitude Media Frontier Forums are live, interactive conversations and presentations that showcase frontier trends in clean energy and climate technology. These virtual events feature timely, in-depth conversations between leading voices in the industry and Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey, as well as interactive Q&A sessions with attendees.

registerregisterWATCH NOW
Venue
Date
October 22, 2024
Location
October 22, 2024

Transition -AI:
New York

Mapping the future of AI + energy.
Co-hosted with
NY tech week logo

Transition-AI is the leading B2B event for energy practitioners and artificial intelligence experts. The conference series brings together business leaders across the energy sector who are building AI teams, integrating AI into new products, and using AI to streamline operations.

Building off its inaugural Transition-AI: Boston event, Latitude Media is joining New York Tech Week, and reconvening experts from the energy, climatetech, and artificial intelligence sectors to discuss AI’s role in the energy transition. The New York event will explore current use-cases and deployments within electric utilities, the role AI can play in streamlining project development, its impact on DER integration, and emerging applications that will continue to shape and optimize our electricity system.

Event Sponsors
Utilidata logosense logo
Industry and Media Partners
necec logoUrban Future Lab logoClimate Change AI logoPrelude Ventures logoPower Grid International logoRenewable Energy World logoGridwise Alliance logo

Speakers

Hanna Grene
Hanna Grene
Microsoft
Raiford Smith
Raiford Smith
AES
Carlos Nouel
Carlos Nouel
National Grid
Dr. Kyri Baker
Dr. Kyri Baker
University of Colorado Boulder
Lauren Kuntz
Lauren Kuntz
Gaiascope
Mark Waclawiak
Mark Waclawiak
Avangrid
Sonam Kala
Sonam Kala
Urbint
Daniel Hynum
Daniel Hynum
GE Digital
Chris Streeter
Chris Streeter
Convergent Energy and Power
Jae Beom Bae
Jae Beom Bae
Leap
Paul McDonald
Paul McDonald
Oracle Energy and Water
Astrid Atkinson
Astrid Atkinson
Camus Energy
Puneeth Kalavase
Puneeth Kalavase
Fluence
Stephen Lacey
Stephen Lacey
Latitude Media
Katie McClain
Katie McClain
Energize Capital
David Groarke
David Groarke
Indigo Advisory Group
Sherry Huang
Sherry Huang
Aurora Solar
Apoorv Bhargava
Apoorv Bhargava
WeaveGrid
Mike Phillips
Mike Phillips
Sense

Schedule

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch and networking
Transition-AI New York seminar cover
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Workshop: A grid expert’s guide to AI and power systems
Dr. Kyri Baker, University of Colorado Boulder

How can we optimize grids using neural networks and machine learning? Dr. Kyri Baker, an expert who focuses on integrating large amounts of distributed generation and demand-side resources into power systems, will walk us through a few modeling scenarios. Then we will break out into small groups to brainstorm possible uses for different kinds of artificial intelligence.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Utility AI/ML Presentation
Mark Waclawiak, Avangrid

A discussion of Avangrid's data science journey, with a presentation and demo of Avangrid's geospatial data science platform for reliability and resiliency modeling.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Networking Break
Transition-AI New York seminar cover
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Panel: The future of AI-enabled energy markets
Lauren Kuntz, Gaiascope
Daniel Hynum, GE Digital
Puneeth Kalavase, Fluence

As project owners looking to maximize the value of batteries and renewables in retail and wholesale power markets, we’ll explore the different AI platforms being developed to make trading more precise.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Sponsored session: The AI-powered hardware unlocking distributed energy resources
Mike Phillips, Sense
Carlos Nouel, National Grid

Sponsored session: We’re entering a new era for smart meters, powered by AI. If the benefits of an interconnected, customer-centric grid can be fully realized, utilities need to marry intelligent, AI-enabled software with utility-grade hardware to better support real-time energy analytics and provide the required protections to securely and reliably enable real-time grid control. In this session, we’ll hear from Sense and National Grid about the recent Revelo® meter rollout in New York, digging into the challenges they collectively faced in meeting the state’s reliability and security standards, and the opportunities their intelligent meters unlock for the region. They’ll also talk about the value of embedding AI and distributed computing software into meters to improve efficiency, enhance reliability and security, and support demand response.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Panel: Better, faster, cheaper – how AI is accelerating renewables and storage
Sherry Huang, Aurora Solar
Katie McClain, Energize Capital
Chris Streeter, Convergent Energy and Power

​From rooftop solar to utility-scale renewables, companies are leveraging AI and digital tools to design, finance, and build projects in increasingly sophisticated ways.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Reception
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast and Networking
Transition-AI New York seminar cover
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Opening talk: The stakes for AI and the business of energy
Stephen Lacey, Latitude Media

A multimedia exploration of how AI is shifting the world of business – and how lessons in other industries can be applied to energy. The presentation will feature expert voices who will set the big-picture context for AI.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Keynote interview - Hanna Grene, Microsoft
Hanna Grene, Microsoft

An in-depth discussion with Hanna Grene on how Microsoft is thinking about the intersection of AI and power markets.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Deep-dive research: Insights from the front lines of utility AI deployments
David Groarke, Indigo Advisory Group

An exclusive look at findings from the ongoing research program between Latitude Media and Indigo Advisory Group on the opportunities and markets for AI solutions in the power sector.

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Networking Break
Transition-AI New York seminar cover
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Panel: How AI can optimize utility operations
Raiford Smith, AES
Sonam Kala, Urbint
Astrid Atkinson, Camus Energy

There are already dozens of use cases for AI on the grid. This discussion will map out many of the real-world applications for utility operations, maintenance, safety, resilience, and grid modernization.

Transition-AI New York seminar cover
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Panel: The AI-empowered customer
Jae Beom Bae, Leap
Paul McDonald, Oracle Energy and Water
Apoorv Bhargava, WeaveGrid
Carlos Nouel, National Grid

From demand response to electric vehicle charging to virtual power plants, AI can be a powerful tool for empowering the customer to save money, monetize distributed energy resources, and contribute to the health of the grid. This panel will dig into the customer-side impacts of automation.

About

Who Should Attend?

Transition-AI: New York is designed for the community of leaders and practitioners responsible for innovation, strategy, technology, security, and product development within the energy and utilities sectors. Titles will include:

  • C-Level Executives
  • Heads of Innovation
  • VC/Investors
  • VPs of Strategy
  • VPs of Product Planning
  • Energy and Utility R&D Specialists
  • IT decision makers

Transition-AI is the leading B2B event for energy practitioners and artificial intelligence experts. The conference series brings together business leaders across the energy sector who are building AI teams, integrating AI into new products, and using AI to streamline operations.​

Building off its inaugural Transition-AI: Boston event, Latitude Media is joining New York Tech Week and reconvening experts from the energy, climatetech, and artificial intelligence sectors to discuss AI’s role in the energy transition. The New York event will explore current use-cases and deployments within electric utilities, the role AI can play in streamlining project development, its impact on DER integration, and emerging applications that will continue to shape and optimize our electricity system.

One of the central pillars of our transition to a net-zero economy is "electrifying everything," from energy generation, to transportation, heating and cooling, heavy industry, even the cooktops in our homes. As this electrification is underway, it's becoming increasingly clear an advanced digital layer to climatetech is essential to add the necessary intelligence to these systems and the electric grid. This intelligence will more and more be the province of AI and the rapid innovations underway in machine learning and distributed intelligence systems.​

Conference themes

  • Deep-dive conversations with leading AI thinkers
  • Real-world uses of AI for renewables development, resource forecasting, price forecasting, financial transactions, and grid optimization
  • Workshops and interactive technical discussions
  • Explorations on how organizations can integrate AI and build AI teams

Our Speakers

  • Raiford Smith: Chief Utility Innovation Officer, AES
  • Carlos Nouel: VP of Transformation Programs, National Grid
  • Hanna Grene: Global Operations and GTM Leader for Energy at Microsoft
  • Mark Waclawiak: Senior Manager, Operational Performance, Avangrid
  • Astrid Atkinson: CEO and Co-Founder, Camus Energy
  • Daniel Hynum: Senior Product Manager, GE Digital
  • Mike Phillips: CEO, Sense
  • Puneeth Kalavase: VP of Data Science and Engineering, Fluence
  • Paul MacDonald: Senior Director, Opower Product and Strategy, Oracle Energy & Water
  • Chris Streeter: Chief Information and Risk Officer, Convergent Energy and Power
  • Katie McClain: Partner and COO, Energize Capital
  • Dr. Lauren Kuntz: CEO and Co-Founder, Gaiascope, Inc.
  • Dr. Kyri Baker: Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
  • Sherry Huang: Group Product Marketing Manager, Aurora Solar
  • Apoorv Bhargava: CEO and Co-Founder, WeaveGrid
  • Jae Beom Bae: Director of Platform Operations, Leap
  • David Groarke: Managing Director, Indigo Advisory Group
  • Sonam Kala: Senior Director, Product - Risk Operations, Urbint​

Who’s attended past events

  • Top utilities
  • Developers
  • Consultants
  • VCs/investors
  • Technology providers
  • Educational institutions
  • Professional service providers
  • Non-profits

​Join us in shaping the AI-driven, net-zero energy future.

​This event is a part of #TechWeek - a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to celebrate the growing NY ecosystem. Learn more here: https://www.tech-week.com/

Space is limited for this conference, so register now.

For inquiries about media passes, government discounts, or sponsorship opportunities, contact us at events@transition-ai.com

About our Sponsors

Sense is making the energy transition accessible to everyone. Sense’s embedded intelligence redefines how utilities and consumers interact with homes and the grid. By partnering with meter manufacturers, Sense delivers software driven by high-resolution data that’s vital for utilities to better engage with customers, detect devices, balance load, forecast demand and identify anomalies. Our consumer-facing app makes homes smarter, empowering home dwellers to make better use of their energy, lower electricity bills, and reduce their carbon footprint. Learn more at https://sense.com.

Utilidata is bringing distributed artificial intelligence (AI) to the edge of the grid to accelerate decarbonization and better serve people. Utilidata's smart grid chip, powered by NVIDIA, is an AI-driven, software-defined platform aimed to transform the way utilities operate at the edge of the grid.

The Venue

Date and time

Thursday, October 19
8:00am - 6:00pm EDT

Location

Convene events center, at 117 West 46th Street is located off of 46th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenue

October 22, 2024

Transition AI:
Boston

Schedule

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch and networking
Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
Hands-on ChatGPT - Use cases and brainstorming
Paul Baier

ChatGPT is a transformative product for a wide variety of creative business use cases. In this hands-on session, we'll look at some practical ways of using ChatGPT for energy companies, and brainstorm new applications and possibilities with the group. Could large language models help your company? Let’s explore how. Session leader: Paul Baier

Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM
The promise and pitfalls of AI for the energy system
Stephen Lacey, Pamela Isom

The surge of interest in artificial intelligence is spawning new companies and use cases across the energy sector, from grid management to resilience to cybersecurity. But it’s also raising questions for startups and large energy companies about the speed of adoption, ethics, equity, and control. In this fireside chat, we’ll hear from Pamela Isom, former director of the office of AI and technology at the Department of Energy, about the possible outcomes for autonomous technologies to shape decarbonization. Guest: Pamela Isom, CEO of IsAdvice & Consulting, and former director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology office at DOE Moderator: Stephen Lacey

2:15 PM - 2:45 PM
Networking Break
Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Panel: The AI-powered use cases at the grid edge
Brea Dutt, Shishir Shekhar, Dana Guernsey, Sreedhar Sistu

Technological progress is accelerating at the grid edge – can artificial intelligence supercharge it? Panelists from across the grid edge landscape will discuss the roles AI will play in optimizing distributed resources, tying together virtual power plants, and creating new capabilities that will result in operational efficiencies for utilities and DER providers.

Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
3:45 PM - 4:30 PM
Innovation roundtable
Patrick Walsh, Allison Myers, Eddie Obropta

How is the rise of AI influencing emerging companies? And how do we sort through the hype from real value creation? In this panel, we’ll hear from investors and startups about how they're approaching the market today, and where the openings for innovation and disruption exist. Will the market be dominated by a new crop of AI-first startups, or by climate-first startups that are figuring out how best to use AI?

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Reception
Sponsored by Mintz
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast and Welcome Address
Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
A guide to AI, deep learning, and the energy transition
Stephen Lacey, Priya Donti

There are numerous compelling applications for AI in the energy system, from resource optimization to resilience. Some of these applications are being deployed today, while others require continued research and development. In this opening session, we’ll hear from Climate Change AI’s Priya Donti on how investors, startups, corporates, and governments can evaluate the usefulness of AI. We will identify specific use cases, constraints, and tools for action in implementing various forms of automation.

Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Analysis: The electricity system and AI - past, present, and future
David Groarke

Discover how AI is unlocking a series of transformative use cases across the electricity sector, from balancing grids and managing demand to optimizing operations. This session will explore the emerging solution landscape, market dynamics, and real-world applications that are driving the adoption of AI in the power sector.

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Networking Break
Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Panel: Will AI reshape utilities and the grid?
Elizabeth Cook, Jess Melanson, Titiaan Palazzi, David Groarke

AI is already having an impact on the operation of the grid, from forecasting to optimization to resilience. But there are more technological leaps to come. This panel features a deep discussion with utility executives and grid edge solutions providers on how artificial intelligence will speed up decarbonization, make the electricity system more resilient, transform utility business models, and shift the role of the customer. We will look at things happening today, and applications in the near future.

Transition-AI Boston seminar cover
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Unlocking 24/7 carbon-free energy with machine learning
Stephen Lacey, Savannah Goodman

For years, Google has been using machine learning to optimize data center energy use, and to better match renewable energy supply with demand. As Google raises the stakes and sources 100% of its electricity from carbon-free resources on an hourly basis, it is building more sophisticated ML tools for the job. In this fireside chat, Stephen Lacey will chat with Savannah Goodman, data and software climate solutions lead at Google, about the digital layer that is making Google’s ambitions possible. Guest: Savannah Goodman, Data and Software Climate Solutions Lead at Google.