Unlocking Distributed Energy Resources ("DER")
5th-7th March 2024, Brussels, Belgium
The Energy Transition Forum hosted its first ETF of 2024 in Brussels, Belgium.
This year's ETF was attended by more senior participants than ever, including Senior Representatives and CEOs, Government and Regulatory Authorities from The US Department of Energy, The European Commission, Former Energy Ministers, FERC, OFGEM, US and European Utilities and Power & Gas companies, Renewables and Storage companies, Digital and Technology companies, Financial and Professional Services, Industries Associations, NGO's, and Academia.
This year’s ETF was also attended by three FERC Chairman: Chairman Phillips; Former Chairman Chatterjee; Former Chairman Wellinghoff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The proceedings for the event started with a dinner and reception on the 5th March with a reception keynote speech by Maros Sefcovic, Executive Vice President European Commission, in charge of European Green Deal & Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, Belgium. The dinner was followed by a keynote speech from Mary Powell, Chief Operating Officer, and Director, Sunrun, USA. Mary Powell’s speech addressed the selection of invited participants on the role and the business case of Solar Energy as a key technology for Distributed Energy Resources.
Willie Phillips, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), USA, provided the dinner speech on the evening of the 6th March. Chairman Phillips addressed the US Federal Role in Integrating Distributed Energy Resources.
The ETF also had its second ever informative hybrid session, with Andy Ott, Head of Technical Operations and Engineering, “Tapestry, Moonshot for the Electric Grid,” at X, The Moonshot Factory, joining via Zoom with a demonstration of the latest (Google) X Tapestry Grid Planning Tool.
Over the 1.5-day session, the ETF invited discussions on the following themes:
- The context of Distributed Energy Resources and their potential to accelerate the clean energy transition from behind-the-meter.
- The impacts of Distributed Energy Resources on Power Markets, Power Systems, and the business cases for implementation in the US and Europe.
- Policy and regulatory measures enacted and anticipated to support and manage Distributed Energy Resources in the public interest.
BRUSSELS ETF Event Photos
Generation/Delivery of Decarbonised Electricity to the grid
March 2023, Chicago, USA
Themes:
1. The rise of Nuclear Energy and its contribution to the need for decarbonised energy goals and the geopolitical challenges of a global nuclear landscape.
2. Large-scale renewables and the barriers and solutions to grid infrastructure development.
3. Policy and regulatory measures enacted and anticipated to support the generation and delivery of decarbonated electrons.
Implication of Decarbonising Heavy Industry/Transport
November 2022, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Themes:
1. The energy crisis and its effect on decarbonizing energy-intensive industries and transportation challenges.
2. The implications for the electricity systems in the UK, Europe, and the USA of decarbonizing heavy industry and transportation
3. Policy and regulatory measures to anticipate and accelerate the decarbonization of industry and transport in the USA, UK, and Europe
How to Drive the Evolution of our Power Systems?
April 2022, Washington D.C., USA
Themes:
1. What challenges does the energy transition create for today’s electricity grid and power markets?
2. What technology and digital solutions can help achieve tomorrow’s electricity grid and power markets?
3. What regulatory and policy measures will facilitate the key necessary changes in the power system?
The State of the US & Europe's Energy Transition Post-COP 26
November 2021, ETF's Private ZOOM Room
Themes:
1. What are the important outcomes of the COP 26 in Glasgow?
2. How will the Energy Transition progress in the US and Europe?
3. What needs to happen in terms of Energy and Climate policies to achieve the 1.5 C maximum temperature rise target?
Special Virtual Energy Transition Forum in conjunction with The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue
March 2021, Virtual Meeting
Themes:
1. What will be the impact of the US re-joining COP 21 and advice on COP 26?
2. How to ensure that mitigation of climate change is compatible with economic growth?
3. Is there a fair and equitable way to distribute the cost of the Energy Transition?
Implication of Decarbonising Heavy Industry/Transport
November 2022, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Themes:
1. The energy crisis and its effect on decarbonizing energy-intensive industries and transportation challenges.
2. The implications for the electricity systems in the UK, Europe, and the USA of decarbonizing heavy industry and transportation
3. Policy and regulatory measures to anticipate and accelerate the decarbonization of industry and transport in the USA, UK, and Europe
How to Drive the Evolution of our Power Systems?
April 2022, Washington D.C., USA
Themes:
1. What challenges does the energy transition create for today’s electricity grid and power markets?
2. What technology and digital solutions can help achieve tomorrow’s electricity grid and power markets?
3. What regulatory and policy measures will facilitate the key necessary changes in the power system?
The State of the US & Europe's Energy Transition Post-COP 26
November 2021, ETF's Private ZOOM Room
Themes:
1. What are the important outcomes of the COP 26 in Glasgow?
2. How will the Energy Transition progress in the US and Europe?
3. What needs to happen in terms of Energy and Climate policies to achieve the 1.5 C maximum temperature rise target?
Special Virtual Energy Transition Forum in conjunction with The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue
March 2021, Virtual Meeting
Themes:
1. What will be the impact of the US re-joining COP 21 and advice on COP 26?
2. How to ensure that mitigation of climate change is compatible with economic growth?
3. Is there a fair and equitable way to distribute the cost of the Energy Transition?
The US Election and COVID-19: Two Barriers to the Energy Transition?
November 2020, Virtual Meeting
Themes:
1. The impact of the 2020 US Election on the Energy Transition and Climate Trajectory for the US and the Rest of the World
2. What should companies and governments do to address challenges and opportunities in our post-COVID world?
3. Who will be the ‘Winners and Losers’ in the Energy Transition post-COVID?
Will the COVID Crisis and Its Economic Recession Advance or Delay the Energy Transition?
June 2020, Virtual Meeting
Themes:
1. What will the impact of the COVID crisis be on the Energy Sector, Energy Markets, and CO2 reduction?
2. Will the Energy Transition be at risk?
3. Will the measures, taken by governments around the world to kick-start their economy, accelerate or hinder the energy transition?
Delivering Climate Solutions: Offshore Wind, Hard-to-abate Industry Technologies and Finance
November 2019, New York, USA
Themes:
1. What are the developments and the ambitions for offshore wind in Europe, North America and Asia?
2. What is the way forward to decrease the footprint of the hard-to-abate industrial sectors?
3. What are the biggest barriers to investment in the energy transition?
Critical Pathways for a Responsible and Timely Energy Transition
June 2019, Paris France
Themes:
1. Update on the implementation of the Paris Agreement
2. Modelling of realistic routes to achieve 1.5 & 2 degree celsius scenarios
3. What is the future of nuclear?
4. How do oil and gas companies navigate the energy transition?
5. Is decarbonization of road transport going faster than expected?
Emerging Threats and Opportunities: Cybersecurity, Political Change, and the Future of Natural Gas
November 2018, Washington D.C.
Themes:
1. Implications of the U.S. midterm-elections for energy and climate policy
2. Cybersecurity challenges and responses
3. The evolving role of natural gas in the energy transition
ETF 3.0 Study Tour and Workshop
June 2018, Berlin, Germany
Themes:
1. New business models resulting from the energy transition and increasingly competitive markets
2. Examining the lessons of the German “Energiewende” for power market transformation in the US and Europe
3. The challenges of preparing for a fully electrified, but decarbonized economy: Do’s and don’ts for utilities
How Information and Communications Technologies are Transforming the Ways We Produce and Use Energy; Enabling Demand as the Full Equivalent of Supply
October 2017, Silicon Valley, CA
Themes:
1. The impacts of Information Technology, Data Management and Ownership, and the “Internet of Things” on the Energy System/ Supply Chain and Energy Markets.
2. Development of Energy Demand and the importance of Demand Side Management, including Demand Response.
3. A Deeper dive into Regulatory and Policy Measures to ensure a responsible transition to a secure, low carbon and affordable energy transition
Recent Developments on the Energy & Climate Agenda; Driving Towards Decarbonized Transport
June 2017, London, UK
Themes:
1. Implications of COP21, COP22, and the US Elections on the Climate and Energy Agenda
2. Latest Energy and Climate Analysis and Recommendations to the July 2017 Meeting of the G-20 Heads of State in Germany
3. Pathways and Drivers of the Decarbonization of Transportation, including the Latest Developments in Technology and Business Models
4. Implications of the Decarbonization of Transportation for the Electricity Sector
The Future of the Power Industry Structure: a Deep Dive Into the Disruption of Business Models and the Policy Measures Needed to Respond
October 2016, Washington, D.C.
Themes:
1. Impact of energy transition on networks and centralized generation- and vice versa
2. Regulatory and policy measures to support an effective energy transition
3. Towards Utilities 2.0