It’s Electric: Developing the Postal Service Fleet of the Future
On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hearing to examine the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of electrifying the Postal Service fleet through the acquisition of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
Opening Statement Witnesses- Tammy L. Whitcomb, Inspector General, United States Postal Service
- Victoria K. Stephen, Executive Director, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, United States Postal Service
- Jill M. Naamane, Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure Team, Government Accountability Office
- Joe Britton, Executive Director, Zero Emission Transportation Association
- Kenny Stein, Director, Policy, Institute for Energy Research
“It is critical for our environment and our future that the Postal Service rapidly transition to an electric fleet,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “The federal government should be leading the way, not falling behind private companies that are already moving ahead to save money and curb climate change by electrifying their fleets. I look forward to this critical hearing to examine how the Postal Service can acquire and deploy electric vehicles and the additional steps Congress can take to support the Postal Service’s transition to the fleet of the future.”
In February 2021, the Postal Service awarded Oshkosh Corporation a contract to build its NGDV, which requires Oshkosh to build up to 165,000 internal combustion engine or battery electric vehicles for the Postal Service over ten years. The Postal Service later announced it would purchase only 5,000 electric vehicles in its initial order.
On March 14, 2022, the Oversight Committee requested that the Postal Service Inspector General examine whether the Postal Service had met its environmental obligations in connection with this acquisition.
Ten days later, on March 24, 2022, the Postal Service announced its initial purchase order with Oshkosh for 50,000 NGDVs, of which at least 10,000 will be electric—twice the number of electric vehicles the Postal Service previously planned to purchase in its initial order.
The hearing will examine the significant domestic environmental and public health benefits, as well as valuable cost savings, of transitioning the Postal Service fleet to electric vehicles. Major private sector fleets are increasingly becoming electric because electric vehicles are more cost-effective in the long run due to lower maintenance and fuel costs.
America’s Natural Solutions: The Climate Benefits of Investing in Healthy Ecosystems
This hearing will review the climate benefits of the investments made in ecosystem restoration and conservation through the Great American Outdoors Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It will also examine opportunities for further investment to create healthy and resilient habitats and communities.
Witnesses- Collin O’Mara, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Wildlife Federation (NWF). O’Mara leads the country’s largest wildlife conservation organization, with 52 state and territorial affiliates and nearly six million hunters, anglers, birders, gardeners, hikers, paddlers, and wildlife enthusiasts. Prior to NWF, O’Mara led the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control as Cabinet Secretary from 2009 through 2014.
- Dr. Sherry L. Larkin, Professor and Director of the Florida Sea Grant College Program, University of Florida. A natural resource and environmental economist, Dr. Larkin leads work to conserve coastal and marine resources and enhance economic opportunities across Florida. She has served as an elected member of the executive committee for the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, as well as the president of the North American Association of Fisheries Economics.
- Dr. Cristina Eisenberg, Graduate Faculty at the Forest Ecosystems & Society Department in the College of Forestry, Oregon State University. Dr. Eisenberg works to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into environmental restoration practices in Western North America. She is a Smithsonian Research Associate and served as the Chief Scientist at Earthwatch Institute, where she oversaw a global research program focusing on ecological restoration, social justice for Indigenous peoples, and sustainable production of natural resources.
- Nick Loris, Vice President of Public Policy, C3 Solutions. Loris studies and writes about a wide range of energy and climate policies, including natural resource extraction, energy subsidies, nuclear energy, renewable power, and energy efficiency. He also studies ways in which markets will improve the environment, reduce emissions, and better adapt to a changing climate.
MIT Energy Conference Day Two
The 2022 MIT Energy Conference will return in-person at the Boston Marriott Cambridge after a 2-year hiatus, and we’re also planning on a hybrid format to allow other attendees to tune in virtually from around the globe!
The 2022 conference will also expand its scope to include broader issues in the fight against climate change, both within and outside the energy sector. Please check out the agenda page for more details on our exciting lineup of events. You can find more details on speakers and startups presenting at the Tech Showcase as well.
April 1, 2022 – Day 2, Friday
9:05am – 9:25am: Keynote address by Dr. Maria Zuber: Vice President for Research at MIT
No Time to Lose: The Imperative of Decarbonizing the Global Economy
Maria Zuber is Vice President for Research and the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics at MIT, where she is responsible for research administration and policy. She oversees MIT Lincoln Laboratory and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research laboratories and centers, including the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the MIT Energy and Environmental Solutions Initiatives, the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, the Research Laboratory of Electronics, the Materials Research Laboratory, MIT.nano, and Haystack Observatory. She also oversees MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade.
9:30am – 9:45am: Keynote address (virtual) by Gina McCarthy: National Climate Advisor at the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy
Federal Climate Change Policy
Gina McCarthy is the first National Climate Advisor—the president’s chief advisor on domestic climate policy—and leads the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy focused on mobilizing a whole-of-government approach to tackling the climate crisis, creating good-paying, union jobs, and securing environmental justice. Previously, she served as 13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and then as President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). One of the nation’s most trusted and accomplished voices on climate issues, she has been at the forefront of environmental and public health progress in a variety of leading roles for over three decades.
9:50am – 10:30am: PLENARY PANEL: Renewable Energy – Heart Pumping the Energy Transition
Renewable energy is the heart of society’s transition into environmentally friendly energy sources and economies. As of now, the renewable energy sector receives billions of dollars and engages some of the most brilliant minds to solve complex socio-technical challenges. This foundational transition is not dealing with on-demand consumption, but rather human long-term survival on a livable planet for generations to come.
The renewable energy technologies that are powering the transition have improved exponentially since its inception – notably in wind and solar energy (for example, solar cells’ efficiency has more than doubled in 40 years, with the price per Watt decreasing approximately 100 times). Such improvements have allowed renewable energy technologies to increase their competitiveness and deployment all over the world, exhibiting two-digit growth in the last decade. Alas, they still have room for improvement to reach their fullest contribution towards the energy transition.For that to happen, we need multidisciplinary collaboration across the worlds of research, business, government, policy, and finance. Looking forward, key questions arise: what technology improvements will sustain our foundational transition in the years to come? Moreover, how will cross-collaboration accelerate innovation and deployment?
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Leonardo Beltrán – Distinguished Energy Fellow, Columbia University
- Joaquín Castillo – USA Country Manager – Acciona Energia
- Cheryl Lafleur – Board Chair, ISO New England
- Sam Massey – Executive Director, Renewable Energy, Next Era
- Mary Werner – Solar Energy Tech Lab Program Manager, NREL
10:45am – 11:25am: PLENARY PANEL: Global Climate Action: Strategy to 1.5C
COP26, held in the UK last year, drew attention for being the first climate change agreement to mention coal use restrictions, as well as the fact that more than 90% of the world’s GDP is now covered by net-zero commitments including India’s declaration of going to net-zero in 2070. However, the world still needs to raise its ambition to reach the 1.5-degree target set in the Paris Agreement. In this panel, climate change experts will talk about strategies to help the world reach this target. In particular, the panel will discuss how the international community can work together, including policies on ESG investment and climate-related financial disclosure given the huge amount of financial resources that will be needed to achieve the 1.5C goal. We will also discuss how we could provide assistance to developing countries and how to develop and disseminate clean technologies that are needed to decarbonize the energy system.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Amy Harder – Executive Editor, Cipher
- Bhargavi Chevva – Investment & Company Building, Breakthrough Energy
- Amy Jaffe – Managing Director at Climate Policy Lab, The Fletcher School at Tufts University
- Dr. Jean Rogers – Senior Managing Director and Global Head of ESG, Blackstone
11:30am – 12:10pm: PLENARY PANEL: Looking Beyond Li-ion
Electrochemical storage, primarily batteries, currently lead the storage market for portable batteries in our devices and vehicles. Li-ion Batteries or LIBs are the current front runners for most of the electrochemical market space because of their high energy densities. However, the $/kWh figure of LIBs already makes them unfavorable for certain applications such as longer-duration grid storage. Is there an underexplored world of cell chemistries that could dethrone LIBs in the upcoming decade? What are the R&D, policy, and financial priorities that can help scale the commercial deployment of emerging storage technologies?
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Dr. Scott Litzelman – Program Director, ARPA-E
- Dr. Yang Shao-Horn – Professor, DMSE, MIT
- Scott Burger – Senior Manager, Analytics, Form Energy
- Thomas (TJ) Winter – VP of Strategic Technologies, Fluence
12:10pm – 1:40pm: LUNCH
1:45pm – 2:25pm BREAKAWAY PANEL: Carbon Capture and Utilization: The Path to Expanding Abatement
Decarbonization of emissions from existing mobile and point-source emitters presents a key challenge in achieving our goal of net-zero. Carbon abatement via capture and utilization technologies offers a promising, yet currently underapplied solution to this challenge. Expanding the use of carbon capture technologies relies, in part, on advancements in alternative capture technologies and further development of downstream carbon utilization solutions. In this panel, we look to explore the ongoing efforts to expand abatement through carbon capture and utilization as well as key technology and policy breakthroughs that could help accelerate this expansion.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Clint Wood – Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Scott Frazier – CEO, Carbon America
- Emily Grubert – Deputy Assistant Secretary of Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, DOE
- Sean Simpson – Founder, Chief Scientific Officer, LanzaTech
Yogesh Surendranath – Professor, Electrochemical catalysis for CO2 conversion, MIT
1:45pm – 2:25pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL II: Climate Adaptation in Small Island Developing Nations
Small Island Developing Nations (SIDS) are some of the most vulnerable communities to climate change. Some of the challenges facing SIDS include rising sea levels, loss of habitat, and increased occurrence of extreme climate events. These challenges highlight the immediacy of climate change, the urgency of climate change mitigation efforts, and the absolute need for climate change adaptation. The aim of this panel is to highlight issues facing SIDS resulting from climate change and ongoing adaptation efforts occurring in SIDS. The panel hopes to discuss adaptation efforts through political, financial, and human lenses.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Sabrina Shankman – Reporter, The Boston Globe
- David Gumbs – Director, RMI Islands Energy Program
- Thilmeeza Hussain – Ambassador / Permanent Representative, UN, Republic of Maldives
2:30pm – 3:10pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL I: Decarbonizing Heavy Industry
Industries like cement and steel manufacturing are among the most emission-intensive. In 2019, approximately 9% of global fossil fuel and industry emissions were related to iron, steel, and cement production. Innovations and a sustainability-focused mindset are required to address and reduce the impact that these industries are having on the environment. In this panel, speakers driving this change in the industry will present their approaches from the start-up, corporate, and policy perspectives.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Jeremy Gregory – Executive Director, MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium
- Tadeu Carneiro – Chairman & CEO of Boston Metal
- Josephine Cheung – Director of Research & Development at GCP Applied Technologies
- Leah Ellis – Co-Founder and CEO, Sublime Systems
- Jack Lewnard – Program Director, ARPA-E
2:30pm – 3:10pm: Fireside Chat – My Climate Journey (MCJ) Live Podcast Recording
Join us for this special live recording of the My Climate Journey podcast – featuring a fireside chat between host Jason Jacobs and Dr. Johanna Wolfson. The podcast explores the problem of climate change and the best ways to address it by talking to experts from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. The goal is not to convert anyone to a specific worldview, but to enable each listener to have a more informed worldview on the best ways to address the problem of climate change.
- Guest: Dr. Johanna Wolfson
- Podcast host: Jason Jacobs
Johanna is a co-founder and General Partner at Azolla Ventures, and co-founder of Prime Impact Fund. Johanna’s career has focused on accelerating climate technologies from lab to market, spanning university and industry applied research, government, and venture investing. Prior to investing, Johanna was Technology-to-Market Director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), where she deployed more than $50MM per year into innovative energy projects and companies and also advised DOE, congressional staff, and national labs on effective lab-to-market strategies. Previously, Johanna led start-up engagement at the applied R&D lab Fraunhofer, where she both sourced innovative technologies for Fortune 500 clients and designed demonstration projects for emerging start-ups to ready their products for market entry. Johanna has a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from MIT, where she conducted research on solid-state physics and photonics.
Jason is a longtime entrepreneur, most recently as founder/CEO of Runkeeper, one of the largest mobile fitness apps and communities, which was acquired by ASICS. He is now creator of the My Climate Journey (MCJ) platform, which consists of a podcast, vibrant member community, and fund, focused on helping address the problem of climate change through content, community, and capital.
3:40pm – 5:40pm: Climate & Energy Prize (CEP) @ MIT $100K Pitch Competition Finals
Previously known as the Clean Energy Prize MIT competition, CEP is now the Climate & Energy Prize MIT competition to be inclusive of all climate change-related problems and to move the world closer to net-zero carbon emissions. CEP not only supports student-led entrepreneurs financially but also offers educational resources such as mentorship and startup boot camps to help them realize their vision.
CEP is the largest and longest-running competition for student-led climate startups in the world with over 550 applicants, over 200 mentored teams, and over $2.8 million in awarded cash prizes. Over 220 CEP @ MIT companies have successfully launched from the competition and raised over $1.1 billion in follow-on funding.
State of the CFTC
- Rostin Benham, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains
The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing domestic critical mineral mining, processing, refining, and reprocessing.
Witnesses- Dr. Steve Fortier, Director, USGS National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Scott Melbye, President, Uranium Producers of America
- Julie Padilla, Chief Regulatory Officer, Twin Metals Minnesota
- Abigail Wulf, Vice President, Critical Minerals Strategy and Director of the Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, Securing America’s Future Energy
- Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz, Director, West Virginia University Research Institute, West Virginia University
Joint Meeting of FERC and NRC
The open meeting will be held virtually. Members of the public may attend the open session. Commissioners from both agencies are expected to participate.
A free webcast of this event will be made available for viewing through the NRC’s Webcast portal. In addition, the event will be transcribed, and the transcription will be made available through the NRC web site approximately a week after the meeting.
All interested persons are invited to the open meeting. Pre-registration is not required and there is no fee to attend this joint meeting. Questions about the meeting should be directed to Lodie White at [email protected] or by phone at (202) 502-8453.
Agenda
Introductions and Opening Statements
Grid Reliability, Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) & Other Topics
NERC
Howard Gugel, NERC, Vice President, Engineering and Standards- State of Reliability
- Long Term Reliability Assessment
- Energy Reliability Assessment Task Force Q&A
FERC
Elin Katz, Director, Office of Public Participation- New initiative to assist the public navigating FERC proceedings
David Ortiz, Acting Director of the Office of Electric Reliability
David Huff, Electrical Engineer, Office of Electric Reliability
Heather Polzin, Attorney Advisor, Office of Enforcement- Cold Weather Inquiry
NRC
Andrea Kock, Deputy Office Director for Engineering, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation- Current Fleet of Operating Reactors
- Advanced Reactors Update
- Subsequent License Renewal
- Decommissioning
- Recent weather-related operating experience impacting NPP availability
- Dam Safety Program Interagency Agreement
- Opportunities to leverage NRC and FERC (DOE) research activities on electromagnetic pulse
Cyber Security Activities
FERC
Barry Kuehnle, Energy Infrastructure and Cyber Security Advisor, Division of Cyber Security, OER- Cybersecurity Updates (recent Orders/notices of proposed rulemaking)
- Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) * Audits Lesson Learned Report
NRC
Jim Beardsley, Acting Deputy Director, Division of Physical and Cyber Security Policy, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response- NRC Cybersecurity Program Accomplishments
- Continued focus on risk-informing cyber security program implementation
- Continued innovation for the future
Participants
FERC Chairman and Commissioners- Chairman Richard Glick
- Commissioner James P. Danly
- Commissioner Allison Clements
- Commissioner Mark C. Christie
- Commissioner Willie L. Phillips
- Chairman Christopher T. Hanson
- Commissioner Jeff Baran
- Commissioner David A. Wright
- David Ortiz, Acting Director of the Office of Electric Reliability (OER)
- Elin Katz, Director, Office of Public Participation
- Barry Kuehnle, Energy Infrastructure and Cyber Security Advisor, Division of Cyber Security, OER
- David Huff, Electrical Engineer, Division of Operations and Planning Standards, OER
- Heather Polzin, Attorney Advisor, Division of Investigations, Office of Enforcement
- North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Staff Howard Gugel, Vice President, Engineering and Standards
- Andrea Kock, Deputy Office Director for Engineering, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
- Eric Benner, Director, Division of Engineering and External Hazards, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
- Jim Beardsley, Acting Deputy Director, Division of Physical and Cyber Security Policy, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response
MIT Energy Conference Day One
The 2022 MIT Energy Conference will return in-person at the Boston Marriott Cambridge after a 2-year hiatus, and we’re also planning on a hybrid format to allow other attendees to tune in virtually from around the globe!
The 2022 conference will also expand its scope to include broader issues in the fight against climate change, both within and outside the energy sector. Please check out the agenda page for more details on our exciting lineup of events. You can find more details on speakers and startups presenting at the Tech Showcase as well.
March 31, 2022 – Day 1, Thursday
9:05am – 9:35am: Keynote address (virtual) by Dr. Fatih Birol: Executive Director of International Energy Agency
Accelerating Global Action on Clean Energy and Energy Security
Dr Fatih Birol has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency since 2015. Under his leadership, the IEA has moved to the forefront of global efforts to reach international climate goals while ensuring that the social and economic impacts of clean energy transitions are at the heart of policy-making and energy security is safeguarded.
9:40am – 10:20am: Keynote address by Glenn Llewellyn: Vice President of the Zero Emission Program at Airbus
Insights on future Hydrogen aircraft
Glenn Llewellyn is Vice President, Zero-Emission Aircraft at Airbus. He is widely recognized as a top-tier leader on climate strategy for aviation. Today, Glenn is at the helm of a zero-emission revolution at Airbus with the mission to unite all the ingredients needed to launch the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft program, ZEROe.
10:35am – 11:15am: PLENARY PANEL: Facilitating a Just Energy Transition
Moderator: Justin Worland – Senior Correspondent: Climate Change, TIME Magazine
Systemic injustice has left marginalized communities and nations exposed to a higher level of threat from the climate crisis. In addition to the harm already done, these groups are at high risk of further suffering not only from the consequences of climate change but also from the adverse effects of the global transition toward decarbonization. It is therefore critical to ensure that all global platforms and commitments consider equitable solutions, particularly in vulnerable communities, in the fight against climate change. Through this panel discussion, we aim to amplify the voices of those most likely to be adversely impacted by climate change and the global transition toward decarbonization, who are fighting to be truly heard in this global discussion. What are the potential strategies that can simultaneously improve the lives of marginalized communities while moving the needle on climate solutions? What concerns do marginalized communities have and how should stakeholders work together to address those concerns?
Featured Panelists:- Sarah Jackson – Northeast Regional Climate & Energy Policy Manager, The Nature Conservancy
- Nonabah Lane – Co-founder, Navajo Ethno-Agriculture
- Heather McGeory – Global Lead, Climate and Sustainability, APCO Worldwide
- Dr. Destenie Nock – Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
11:20am – 12:00pm: Fireside Chat with Audrey Choi and Jason Jay
Sharing her vision for the role of corporates and private capital in addressing the climate crisis
Audrey Choi: Senior Advisor and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing, Morgan Stanley
Audrey Choi is Morgan Stanley’s Chief Sustainability Officer and is the founding CEO of Morgan Stanley’s industry-leading Institute for Sustainable Investing where she oversees the Firm’s efforts to promote global sustainability through the capital markets. She also serves on the Firm’s Management Committee and for four years, Ms. Choi simultaneously served as Morgan Stanley’s Chief Marketing Officer where she stewarded the brand to reflect the Firm’s core values of leading with integrity and exceptional ideas, and won industry awards for best corporate strategy and media innovation as the Morgan Stanley brand reached an all-time high.
Moderator: Jason Jay, Director of MIT Sloan Sustainable Initiative
Jason Jay is a Senior Lecturer and Director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. He teaches executive and masters-level courses on strategy, innovation, and leadership for sustainable business. He has helped secure MIT Sloan’s position as a leader in the field of sustainability through teaching, research, and industry engagement. Dr. Jay’s publications have appeared in the Academy of Management Journal and California Management Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Greenbiz, and World Economic Forum. With Gabriel Grant, he is the author of the international bestseller Breaking Through Gridlock: The Power of Conversation in a Polarized World. Dr. Jay also works as a facilitator for companies, organizations, and business families, supporting high quality conversation and shared commitment to ambitious sustainability goals. His clients have included EFG Asset Management, Novartis, Bose, Environmental Defense Fund, BP and the World Bank.
12:00pm – 1:30pm: Lunch
1:35-2:15pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL I: Deploying the Hydrogen Economy
Moderator: Dharik Mallapragada, Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and when used as an energy source, it emits only water. As the world is struggling to find replacements for fossil fuels, green hydrogen, hydrogen produced by renewable energy sources, is gaining significant attention with its potential to be a zero-emission energy carrier. Nevertheless, the deployment of hydrogen in the industrial, energy, and transportation sectors still faces tremendous uncertainties. How can we drive down costs along the green hydrogen value chain making it more competitive in the market? How can industry sectors leverage the advantages of hydrogen to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors? What policy levers and innovation support should be in place to ensure that countries and regions meet their hydrogen development goals? This panel will gather industry leaders in hydrogen planning, production, and utilization to discuss the progress made in recent years and the future pathways to a hydrogen economy.
Featured Panelists:- Arnab Chatterjee – VP of Infrastructure, ZeroAvia
- Preeti Pande – CMO, Plug Power
- Brett Perleman – CEO, Center for Houston’s Future
1:35-2:15pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL II: Financing the Journey to Net Zero: Challenges and Opportunities for Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development
A global energy transition is needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change, and energy decisions in developing countries will have an outsized impact on future emissions. However, developing countries face a number of unique challenges in transitioning energy supplies while maintaining economic growth. What are the opportunities for overcoming financial challenges blocking environmentally sustainable development? What do different governmental, multilateral, and private development actors see as key priorities and exciting possibilities? How can the developed world lend a helping hand to developing countries in terms of equitably financing their energy transition?
International, collaborative, blended public climate finance will have a critical role to play in bolstering a low-carbon, resilient transformation of the world’s global economy. This panel seeks to provoke discussions, spark debate and call for action to mobilize such resources to halt the erratic clock that’s ticking away at our collective climate futures.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Anil Markandya – Distinguished Ikerbasque Professor, Basque Centre for Climate Change
- Pilar Carvajo Lucena – Investment Officer, IDB Invest
- Vivek Pathak – Director and Global Head for Climate Business, IFC / World Bank
- Antonio Silveira – VP Infrastructure – CAF, Bank of Development of Latin America
2:20pm-3:00 pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL I: Modernizing the Grid
Our extensive and reliable power grid, connecting all generation sources to all end-uses, has been so critical to our nation’s growth that the National Academy of Engineering named “electrification” the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century. However, the existing power system cannot meet the evolving demands of the 21st century. Traditional grid architecture was based on large-scale generation remotely located from consumers, centralized control structures with minimal feedback, limited energy storage, and passive loads. A modern grid must be flexible, robust, and agile from end to end, spanning generation, delivery, and end-user segments. This panel will discuss some of the most urgent questions on grid modernization and distributed energy resource integration, including strategies to increase the deployment of existing smart grid solutions, the impacts of new technologies such as vehicle-to-grid integration, how customers increasingly value resiliency through adoption of backup power and microgrid systems, and new opportunities and challenges presented by FERC Order 2222 for customers, distributed resource aggregators, utilities, and wholesale market operators.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Sanem Sergici – Principal, The Brattle Group
- Tim Hade – COO, Scale Microgrid Solutions
- Stephen Lasher – Director of the Electric Markets Integration, National Grid
- John Taggart – CTO, WeaveGrid
2:20pm – 3:00pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL II: Challenges and Trends in the VC Space
Although the energy transition has been gaining traction worldwide, it has done so without vigorous VC participation. VC investment could ensure a solid startup ecosystem developing new technologies to build a sustainable energy economy. For instance, the share of “energy unicorns” in the United States and Canada, as of April 2021, represented only 1.37% (Source: Statista estimates; CrunchBase; CB Insights, and other), and the VC deals in energy have reached $1.9 Billion in 2020, the lowest among the leading industries (Source: NVCA 2021 Yearbook). This panel will address the current role of VC investors in the clean energy space and today’s greatest challenges to fostering innovative instruments to tackle the barriers of capital costs for renewable energy. What are the main challenges in identifying and funding entrepreneurs focused on unlocking new energy sources? What are the key elements missing in the current legislation, policy frameworks, regulations, and guidance to promote more VC deals in the energy industry? Is the VC participation in energy projects consistent with the level of emerging startups in that space? What are the critical issues for achieving a suitable collaboration among stakeholders to improve financing platforms for energy ventures (Startups, VC, Multilateral Agencies, and Government)?
Moderator: Jon Shieber – Editor and Venture Partner, FootPrint Coalition
Featured Panelists:- Ryan Dings – COO and General Counsel, Greentown Labs
- Brian Mayers – Investor & Company Builder, Breakthrough Energy Ventures
- Shail Mehta – Managing Director, Global Co-Head of Clean Energy Transition, Citi
- Christina O’Conor – Partner & Climate Tech Investor, Congruent Ventures
3:15pm – 3:55pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL I: Driving the Future of Personal Mobility
Moderator: Annie Hudson – Assistant Director, MIT Mobility Initiative
As human population, travel, and international trade continue to increase, so do associated emissions that pose risk to both human health and the environment. For the United States, transportation is among the worst offenders, accounting for 29% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2019. More specifically, light-duty vehicles and medium-large trucks alone generated 82% of these emissions. So while the need to decarbonize personal mobility is apparent, the heterogeneity and unique needs of population centers complicate the task of generating practical implementation strategies: the question has evolved from “what to change” to “where and how to begin the required change”? What does this change look like in the day-to-day of city-goers? In more rural areas? How do we drive these changes for the individual consumer? How do we scale this change across cities and countries? And how do we make these changes sustainable enough to stand the test of time?
This panel will tackle these questions by looking at mobility from a bottom-up approach: considering changes at the city level, impacts on the persons who inhabit them, and how localized success may eventually cascade to industrial and commercial mobility. This panel will address the obstacles and practical steps necessary to reimagine personal mobility in a net-zero world.
Featured Panelists:- Nick Albanese – Head of Market Research, Westly Group
- Will Graylin – CEO, Indigo Technologies
- Lynda Tran – Director of Public Engagement and Senior Advisor to Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg
- Alex Wallar – CTO, The Routing Company
3:15pm – 3:55pm: BREAKAWAY PANEL: The Future of Nuclear Energy
Governments, civil entities, and private companies continue to migrate towards carbon neutral practices, driven by concern over increasing effects of climate change. Migrating to cleaner practices demands that our supply of energy is generated from non-fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is an attractive but controversial energy source with reduced GHG emissions. In the past, politics, social perception, and rare catastrophes have slowed down the innovation and adoption of this technology, while solar, wind, and other renewables have grown rapidly. In recent years, more investment and focus has been placed into nuclear energy as a strong partner to renewables and an attractive option to produce synthetic fuels. This panel will span three pillars of nuclear energy: science, systems and society. It will share the newest technologies in fission such as mobile microreactors. Furthermore, it will explore infrastructure and regulation requirements that need to take place to incorporate nuclear energy into our portfolio of clean energy sources. Finally, it will discuss the importance of stakeholder and public commitment to the technology and explore potential pathways for nuclear energy deployment.
Featured Panelists:- Moderator: Sonal Patel – Senior Associate Editor, POWER Magazine
- Jacopo Buongiorno – Director, CANES (Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems), MIT
- Samuel Lee – Acting Director, Division of Security Operations, US NRC
- Jeff Navin – Director of External Affairs, Terrapower
Virtual Public Meeting
The meeting discussion will focus on the beta version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool developed by the Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council draft recommendations on the implementation of the Justice40 Initiative. These two charges were established through Executive Order 14008 Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
The WHEJAC is interested in receiving public comments relevant to the beta version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and federal government agencies’ implementation of the Justice40 Initiative.
Please be prepared to briefly describe your comments and recommendations on what you want the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to advise the Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council to do regarding the beta version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and federal government agencies’ implementation of the Justice40 Initiative.
Members of the public who wish to participate during the public comment period must pre-register by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, March 23, 2022.
Register for the WHEJAC public meeting
Read the Draft Agenda for the WHEJAC public meeting
The WHEJAC will hear from as many registered public commenters as possible during the time specified on the agenda. Written comments can be submitted up to two (2) weeks after the meeting date. To participate in the meeting via written comment, the public can submit their written comments in the following ways:- Entering comments in the Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2021-0683 at http://www.regulations.gov, when the docket opens.
- Using the webform
- Sending comments via email to [email protected], for comments with additional materials.
State Climate Policy Network national call
Join us for our monthly State Climate Policy Network national call! This one-hour, once-a-month call is the perfect opportunity to learn about the different legislation and movements going on in states across the U.S. Legislators, advocates, and experts will join us and inform the network of what is going on in their state, and what you might be able to do to help.
Please register and spread the word to others interested in pushing forward climate policy in their state, and read more about the SCPN here.
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Stakeholder Perspectives on SNAP
Meeting has been postponed. Meeting will be rescheduled for a later date.