Spring Symposium
The Council’s Spring Symposium:
Reimagining the Road Ahead
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Los Angeles, CA
With all the uncertainties that we face in today’s complex and interconnected world, one thing is certain: the effects of climate change are very real and personal to us all. Sitting on the sidelines and waiting to see what happens is not an option. We must be proactive and resolute in our efforts to tame the beast of climate change. Much of what we do depends on all of us imaging a number of pathways forward that draw on California’s pioneering spirit and optimism.
The Council was proud to host this year’s Symposium in-person in Downtown Los Angeles on April 21st. The daylong program brought together decision makers, practitioners, and advocates to imagine California’s road toward a clean energy future. We heard about innovative and best-in-class approaches that will help us move closer to realizing our decarbonization ambitions, how we will manage a stable energy system along the way, and how we will do all this in a fair and equitable manner.
Agenda
Keynote Speakers
- Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, Chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee
- Introduced by Greg Wikler, Executive Director, CEDMC
- Assemblymember Steve Bennett
- Introduced by Brian Prusnek, Director of Customer Programs and Assistance, SoCalGas
- Lauren Faber O’Connor, Chief Sustainability Officer, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
- Introduced by Greg Wikler, Executive Director, CEDMC
Opening Plenary – Reimagining the Road Ahead
As California faces a multitude of unprecedented challenges brought on by climate change, the purpose and role of our resources – energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed energy resources – couldn’t be more apparent. One might imagine that the road ahead for these clean energy resources is boundless. Yet realizing the true potential of these resources is uncertain and is fraught with a myriad of barriers and obstacles. The purpose of this session is to invite some of California’s leading clean energy thinkers representing local governments, academia, media, and NGOs to offer their perspectives on imaginative ways that we can rapidly accelerate the adoption of these resources to help expedite the achievement of our state’s ambitious climate goals. After introductory remarks by each panelist, there will be a series of structured questions posited by the moderator. Conference attendees will be invited to ask live questions.
- Kelly Trumbull, Senior Project Manager, UCLA Luskin Center
- Michael Colvin, Director Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, California Energy Program, EDF
- Minh Le, General Manager for Energy and Environmental Services, LA County
- Moderator: Carmen Henrikson, Vice President, TRC Energy Services
Lunchtime Speech – Learning about Clean Energy and Decarbonization from Europe
Get the latest insights from the California of the EU. Presentation about how the international partnership between California and Denmark accelerates decarbonization by sharing best-practices and knowledge on policy, tech and innovation.
- Sander de la Rambelje, Energy and Climate Coordinator, Consulate General of Denmark in Silicon Valley
Session #1 – California is Accelerating its Decarbonization Efforts
As we all continue to experience the devastating effects of climate change, there is more resolve than ever to ensure that our state’s monumental decarbonization policies are implemented in the best way possible. Over the past few years, a number of promising decarbonization initiatives have launched and are starting to make a difference. During this session we will take a deep dive into the current state of these efforts, discuss the potential impacts and the challenges that lie ahead. We will hear from leaders who are tasked with implementing various recent legislative efforts (AB 3232, SB 1477, etc.). We will hear from implementers and administrators of initiatives covering debarbonization efforts addressing the building, transportation and industrial segments.
- Shiva Subramanya, EVP, Veregy Pacific
- Marc Costa, Director of Policy & Planning, The Energy Coalition
- Tom Bowen, President, Qmerit Solutions
- Moderator: Warren Wang, Associate Director of Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Guidehouse
Session #2 – Moving Forward with DERs to Ensure California’s Grid Resiliency
Distributed energy resources (DERs) are a central element of California’s planning horizon to stabilize the state’s electrical grid. With looming climate change issues increasingly stressing the grid, this session will focus on DER resource solutions that are working and in-the-field today to meet future needs. With significant technological advances in building automation and controls combined with new and evolving demand response programs, more customers are able to deploy these resources and meaningfully contribute to our resiliency efforts. During this session we will explore a host of near and long-term efforts that are taking place right now and are beginning to make a difference.
- Andrew Hammen, Vice President, Utility Solutions, GridPoint
- Vasudha Lathey, Vice President, Olivine
- John Anderson, Director of Energy Markets, OhmConnect
- Moderator: Jay Luboff, Jay Luboff Consulting
Session #3 – Advancing Clean Energy Innovation
California takes pride in being one of the world’s leaders in clean energy innovation. Thanks to our state’s decades-long cutting-edge R&D efforts, we are beginning to see how many concepts that were considered futuristic only a few years ago are now taking center stage in our battle against climate change. The focus of this session is to gain a better understanding of how California and the nation are innovating toward a clean energy future. We will hear from experts about the state of futuristic technologies aimed at reducing source carbon emissions in buildings, industry and transportation.
- Stephanie Yanchinski, Director of Entrepreneurship, Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech
- Kaushik Biswas, Sr. Engineer, Energy Delivery & Utilization, GTI
- Ram Narayanamurthy, Program Director, Emerging Tech – Buildings R&D at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- Moderator: Ammi Amarnath, Senior Technical Executive at Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
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