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Energy Analysis Forum 2001 (Aug. 13-14)
The following experts spoke during the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's first Energy Analysis Forum in Golden, Colorado, on August 13-14, 2001.
In Alphabetical Order:
Brent Alderfer, Community Energy, Inc.
R. Brent Alderfer is president of Community Energy, Inc., the company that developed and marketed the first wind energy production in the competitive Pennsylvania market, and recently announced a partnership that will bring on line the largest wind farms east of the Mississippi-a total of 74 megawatts. Brent is a leading spokesperson on customer choice, green choice and distributed generation markets. He directed the first study of barriers to distributed generation, entitled "Making Connections" released by the Department of Energy. As a utility Commissioner in Colorado from 1996-99 he led the national discussion of horizontal market power in advance of California. He chaired the Energy Resources and Environment Committee and the Ad Hoc Market Power Resolution Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in 1998. Brent is an electrical engineer and a lawyer, a graduate of Georgetown University Law School.
Eldon Boes, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Eldon Boes is the past Director of NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center, which includes analysts working both at NREL's primary location in Golden Colorado and in NREL's Washington office. He also serves as Manager of NREL's Washington office. Eldon works primarily on the development and management of a strong Energy Analysis Program at NREL in support of the planning, management, and representation of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs at NREL and at DOE. Eldon also supports the planning and development of the broader Energy Programs at DOE as NREL's representative on the Laboratories' Energy R&D Working Group. He began his career in renewable energy working on solar resource assessment at Sandia National Laboratories in 1974. During the next 16 years at Sandia, Eldon worked on photovoltaics (PV) systems and applications development, PV concentrator R&D, and solar thermal collector development. He served as supervisor or manager of several solar programs including the PV Program at Sandia. Eldon has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University, and has taught mathematics for 8 years. He and his wife Joan live in Alexandria VA. Eldon has been commuting by bicycle for 35 years.
Gerry Braun, BP Solar
Gerry Braun is Director, Emerging Markets for BP Solar having joined joined Solarex in 1993. BP Solar is the integrated successor of two major solar electricity companies, BP Solar and Solarex, is a leading manufacturer of solar electricity equipment for the worldwide market, and is the leading company delivering complete projects using photovoltaic modules and other energy conversion and storage equipment. Gerry is responsible for BP Solar's efforts to commercialize new photovoltaic conversion technologies and to deliver value-added product offers to the global market. Prior to joining Solarex, he served as Director, Advanced Energy Systems, at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, following an assignment as Director, Solar Thermal Technology for the U.S. Department of Energy. He also served in progressively responsible positions with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Southern California Edison Company and Bechtel Corporation. Gerry holds a B.S. in Science Engineering from the University of Michigan and M.S. and Nuclear Engineer
Merwin Brown, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Merwin Brown is the Market Sector Manager for the electric and natural gas markets at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where he facilitates the transfer of NREL technologies to those sectors. He also is leading a special initiative to develop a strategy for achieving NREL's mission in the context of emerging market trends in natural gas fired generation and distributed energy. Merwin has nearly 30 years in the electric and gas utility business mostly in the management of technology R&D or strategic business and market planning. He was with Pacific Gas and Electric Company for 10 years, and before that with Arizona Public Service Company for 12 years. At these utilities he was involved in the development of a broad range of technologies, including renewables, nuclear and fossil generation, energy transport and delivery systems, distributed energy systems, demand side management and energy efficiency, and advance vehicles. In between he joined a utility-supported advance nuclear R&D team, Gas Cooled Reactor Associates, that was involved in the development of a new utility-preferred nuclear power design. Most recently he joined the Battelle Memorial Institute in 1995. Before being assigned to NREL, he held the position of Market Sector Leader for the Commercial Energy Industry at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Merwin holds a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Kansas State University.
James Caldwell, American Wind Energy Association
Jim Caldwell is the Policy Director for the American Wind Energy Association. He has forty years of experience in the energy business including positions as Refinery Operations Manager at the (now) British Petroleum refinery in Carson, CA; Manager of Downstream Corporate Planning for ARCO; CEO of ARCO Solar, Inc.; and an independent consultant and project developer with worldwide development experience in most alternative energy technologies. He has extensive experience as an environmental advocate in the California electricity restructuring debate going back to its roots in the early 1990's.
Robert Dixon, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Energy
Robert Dixon is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Power Technologies at the Department of Energy (DOE). Dixon joined the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in 1997. A year later, he became Director of International Programs. Dixon has led two Presidential Initiatives: the U.S. Country Studies Program and the U.S. Initiative on Joint Implementation. He has also served on the U.S. negotiating team for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Earlier in his career, Dixon served as a senior scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he managed programs in support of the Clean Air Act. He also supported the Executive Office of the President in preparation for the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. He was awarded EPA's bronze medal for his efforts. As a Research Chemist for the Allied Corporation, Dixon managed a research, development and deployment program and authored two U.S. patents. While serving as a Professor at the University of Minnesota, Dixon was awarded the Smithsonian Fellowship and served as a Visiting Professor at Oxford University. He also managed Agency for International Development (AID) sponsored renewable energy programs in southern Asia for Winrock International. Dixon received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.
Robert Easton, Western Area Power Administration
Robert (Bob) H. Easton is the Manager, Operations Engineering & Planning for the Western Area Power Administration's (Western) Rocky Mountain Regional Office located in Loveland, Colorado. Western is a Federal Power Marketing Administration under the Department of Energy whose mission is to market and deliver reliable, cost-based hydroelectric power and related services. They own and operate over 16,800 circuit miles of transmission line in 15 central and western states. Mr. Easton joined Western in 1983, and has held positions in construction in the Dakotas, Transmission Planning Engineer in Golden, Colorado, and Scheduling and Billing Manager in Phoenix, Arizona. One aspect of his present job entails responding to transmission access requests for new generation interconnection to the Western transmission system in the Colorado/Wyoming area. Bob has a degree in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University.
Randy Gee, Duke Solar Energy, LLC
Rick Gilliam, The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies
Rick Gilliam is the Energy Project Co-Director for the LAW Fund, a non-profit law and policy center dedicated to restoring and protecting the natural environment of the Interior American West. Rick has over two decades of experience in the electric utility industry. Prior to joining the LAW Fund in 1994, he was a senior utility manager for Public Service Company of Colorado's rates and regulation department where he was instrumental in convincing PSCo's officers to pursue energy efficiency. Prior to his twelve-year stint at PSCo, he spent six years at FERC reviewing wholesale rates. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master's in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver.
Larry Goldstein, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Larry Goldstein is a Senior Engineering Analyst and Program Manager with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the Washington, DC. He currently manages the NREL Utility Studies Program and works closely with the Department of Energy, Office of Utility Technologies conducting technology, market and policy issues analysis. Before joining NREL in 1992, Larry spent over 25 years in private industry with Exxon Research and Development Company and then General Public Utilities working in combustion engineering, fuel resource and technology development, energy planning, electric utility management and greenfield cogeneration/IPP development. Larry holds a B.A in Chemistry from City College, New York, an M.S. in Chemistry from Niagara University, New York and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Robert Grace, Sustainable Energy Advantage
Robert Grace is President of Sustainable Energy Advantage and a top innovator in the technical and policy analysis of renewable energy markets. Bob is active in developing markets, business opportunities, and infrastructure for bulk renewable electricity supply for clients in the public, private and non-profits sectors. His 18 years of broad work experience includes working with a range of stakeholders across a diverse array of functions. Trained as an interdisciplinary analyst in energy and environment, Bob is a frequent public speaker, author of several business plans, market assessments, RFPs, and policy white papers, and a regular participant in committees and workshops probing issues shaping the renewable power landscape in a competitive market environment. Bob previously headed up the green power marketing activities of AllEnergy Marketing Company and was a Principal Analyst specializing in wholesale power marketing and industry restructuring for New England Power Company. Earlier, as a Senior Analyst for LaCapra Associates, he supported a variety of electric and gas utility sector clients. Bob holds a M.S. in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Energy Studies from Brown University.
John Grainger, North Carolina State University
John Grainger is Professor and Interim Head in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. He has also been President and Principal Consultant with Distributed Energy Systems, Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina, an international firm offering engineering consulting, research and professional education/training services to the electric power industry. John is the founding Director of the Electric Power Research Center at North Carolina State University, a joint university/industry cooperative research center in electric power systems engineering. He has led the Center's major research programs in transmission and distribution systems planning, design, operation, automation, and control areas, as well as power system dynamics. His industrial experience includes work with the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland, Commonwealth Edison Company, Chicago, Wisconsin Electric Power Company, and Carolina Power & Light Company. John is presently Chairman of the CIRED US National Committee which he founded, recently served on the Governing Board of the IEEE Power Engineering Society, recently chaired the IEEE/PES Power Engineering Education Committee, and was recently vice-chair of the IEEE/PES Distribution Subcommittee. A graduate of the National University of Ireland, he received his M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
James Hill, Xcel Energy
Jim Hill is a Resource Engineer with Xcel Energy's Denver office. As a Resource Engineer in the Company's planning group, Jim is responsible for performing various technical analyses on the supply-side resource options that are available to Xcel Energy's operating companies for meeting customer demand. These analyses routinely involve use of computer models that simulate electric system operations. Jim was involved in Public Service Company of Colorado's 1999 Integrated Resource Planning process, including the development of cost estimates associated with the incorporation of a large wind farm into the PSCo system. Jim has testified before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in numerous dockets. Jim holds a B.S. in natural resource management from Colorado State University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado.
Thomas Hoff, Clean Power Research
Thomas Hoff is a Principal with Clean Power Research, a firm that designs analytical methods to evaluate the economics of clean energy investments and builds software programs based on these methods. He has researched and published about applications for photovoltaics and other clean energy investments for almost 15 years. These applications include micro-grids, distributed generation, customer-sited, and central station. He has performed economic evaluations from the perspectives of investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, rural utilities, residential and commercial customers, transit authorities, and regulatory agencies. Tom holds a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.
David Hurlbut, Public Utility Commission of Texas
David Hurlbut is a senior economic analyst with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. For the past year he has advised the commissioners on all aspects of electric utility restructuring, and he is closely involved with developing Texas' renewable energy policy under deregulation. He holds a doctorate in public policy from the University of Texas, where he studied the legal, economic and conservation effects of irrigation water markets in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. The University Council on Water Resources awarded his dissertation top honors in the field of socioeconomics.
Jeff King, Northwest Power Planning Council
Jeff King has been the Council's Senior Resource Analyst since 1984. He is responsible for the assessment of generating resources and improvements to the efficiency of the existing power system, and analysis of issues associated with these resources. Prior to the Council, Jeff worked as a staff engineer for Battelle Northwest in Richland, Washington. There he participated in energy-related studies for federal, state and private clients. Jeff has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington and graduate study in regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brendan Kirby, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Brendan Kirby is the Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Power Systems Research Program and a private consultant. He has 25 years of electric utility experience, has been working on restructuring and ancillary services since 1994 and spot retail power markets since 1985. Brendan's interests include electric industry restructuring, ancillary services, distributed resources, demand side response, energy storage, renewable resources, and advanced analysis techniques. He has published over 50 papers, articles, and reports. He is participating in the IEEE SCC 21 Distributed Generation Interconnection Standard working group, served as staff to the Department of Energy's Task Force on Electric System Reliability, was a member of the NERC IOS Working Group, and has appeared as an expert witness in FERC and state litigation. He has conducted research projects concerning restructuring for the NRC, DOE, EEI, numerous utilities, state regulators, and EPRI. Brendan is a licensed Professional Engineer with a M.S degree in Electrical Engineering (Power Option) from Carnegie-Mellon University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.
Ronald Lehr, Attorney
Arnold Leitner, RDI Consulting
Arnold Leitner is a Consult with RDI Consulting specializing in competitive strategy development and technology issues that impact the electric industry. He developed RDI's new generating capacity information service, NEWGen, providing a detailed assessment of the status of proposed power plants and competitive information on major industry players and built a sophisticated power plant forecasting model. Arnold's work, on behalf of investors and developers, includes developing a methodology to predict the global demand for combined cycle power plants over the next decade, valuing fuel-switching options at combustion turbine power plants, and assisting a global oil company in selecting possible acquisition candidates in the power industry. He has conducted market analyses for independent power projects in many regions of the country and is currently writing a white paper on the opportunities for large-scale solar power deployment in the Southwestern United States. Arnold holds a PhD in superconductor physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and masters of physics from the University Fridericiana in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Gary McKay, Global Power Solutions, LLC
Gary McKay is a Principal in the consulting firm Global Power Solutions. As a consultant in the electric power industry, Gary specializes in plant performance analysis and engineering economics. He has experience with fossil fired and geothermal technologies, having been involved in the design, review, or testing of hundreds of generating units. Gary's geothermal career began in 1980 as an engineer involved in the designs of the most efficient plants in The Geysers. He has gone on to be involved in most of the plants in the U.S., as well as plants in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Gary holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Colorado.
Michael Milligan, Consultant
Michael Milligan is a consultant to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where he has conducted analysis on various aspects of electricity supply related to wind energy since 1992. He has worked on issues such as the value of accurate wind forecasting, optimal selection of geographically disperse wind power plants, modeling wind plant variability, and the reliability contribution of wind power plants. A recently completed paper adapted a probabilistic method for assigning operating reserve allocations to wind power plants. Prior to coming to NREL, Michael worked for many years in the electric utility industry, where he was involved with load forecasting, rate analysis, and electricity production simulation. He has M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Colorado and a B.A. in mathematics and philosophy from Albion College.
Ralph Overend, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Ralph Overend is a Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is an internationally recognized leader in the development of biomass energy. He has a very diverse background in energy research, development and deployment where he applies his core expertise in chemical reaction kinetics to bioenergy systems and the development of thermochemical, and biological processes. He has worked in Bioenergy and renewable energy since 1973 as a planner, manager, and coordinator of research and development in both Canada and the United States. His nearly 20 years with the National Research Council of Canada was as manager of the Bioenergy program and advisor to the Department of Energy Mines and Resources. In addition, he served as coordinator of renewables R&D for several years. He joined the NREL biomass power program in 1990 and has worked extensively in the development of long-range plans and strategies for biomass power and biofuels. He has published over 220 papers in the field, six books, and edited several published meeting proceedings. He edits the journal, Biomass and Bioenergy, and the biomass section of the journal, Solar Energy, in addition to being a member of several editorial boards. Ralph holds a Ph.D. from the University of Dundee and an MSc from the University of Salford, both in Chemistry.
Henry Price, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Henry Price is the SunLab parabolic trough team leader for the U.S. DOE Concentrating Solar Power Program. He is responsible for managing all parabolic trough R&D activities funded through the DOE. Henry formerly worked for Luz Engineering Corporation, the operator of the nine parabolic trough solar power plants, totaling 350 MW, in the California Mojave Desert. Henry was the performance engineer for the Luz plants. His responsibilities included development of solar and backup fossil dispatch operating strategies, plant performance analysis, and performance warranty tracking. Henry has a MS in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a registered mechanical engineer in the State of California.
Richard Rosen, Tellus Institute
Richard Rosen is Senior Research Director and Director of the Energy Group at Tellus Institute. As a co-founder of Tellus, he has over twenty years of experience in utility resource planning and management. Recently, Richard has worked primarily on issues involving the restructuring of the electricity industry and is currently assisting the staff of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control in evaluating the Con Edison/Northeast Utilities merger. His research and professional activities include reviews of utility price structures, comments on draft electric utility restructuring legislation, work on several electric utility mergers, recommendations for enhancing competition within the electric utility industry, and evaluating the proper integration of supply-side and DSM options into integrated resource planning. His research also includes resource sup-ply system modeling and economic and technical analyses of utility system supply options. Richard has testified in regulatory proceedings before numerous state utility commissions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 1991, he ended a three-year appointment to the Research Advisory Committee of the National Regulatory Research Institute. Richard holds a B.S. from MIT and a Masters and Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University.
Walter Short, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Walter Short is a Principal Policy Analyst with the NREL Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center in Golden, Colorado. Walter works with the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in formulating and analyzing policy initiatives with an emphasis on climate change and the role of renewable energy. As a part of his climate change efforts, he co-authored a recently released report, Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future, examining the opportunities to address key energy and environmental challenges facing the U.S. through clean energy technologies and policies. This study relies heavily on Walter's work on the representation of renewables in energy market models and scenarios. He also serves as Group Manager for the NREL analysis staff in Golden Colorado. Walter holds a B.S. degree in mathematics from the University of Georgia and an M.S. in operations research from Stanford University.
Virinder Singh, Renewable Energy Policy Project
Virinder Singh is Research Director and Co-Acting Director at the Renewable Energy Policy Project and CREST. He has authored and co-authored a number of publications, including reports on diesel generators, clean energy industry trends, and energy and environmental justice. He is currently managing projects on biopower and the environment, labor impacts of renewables, and renewable energy's role in California. Virinder holds a Masters in International Affairs (Environmental Policy Studies focus) from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Blair Swezey, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Blair Swezey is a Principal Policy Analysis with the NREL Strategic Energy Analysis and Applications Center in Golden, Colorado. Blair advises utilities and state regulatory commissions, energy offices, and legislatures in the formulation of renewable energy programs and policies, and has prepared and presented testimony in several state regulatory and legislative proceedings. He is also editor of the State Renewable Energy News, a newsletter on state and utility renewable energy activities prepared for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Blair holds a B.S. degree in Political Economy of Natural Resources from the University of California at Berkeley and completed graduate studies in Economics at San Jose State University.
Richard Truly, Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Ryan Wiser is a Staff Research Associate in the Electricity Markets and Policy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He leads and conducts research in the planning, design, and evaluation of renewable energy programs, green power marketing opportunities, renewable energy economics, and electricity industry restructuring. Ryan has advised a number of state and federal agencies in the development and design of renewable energy policies, and is the technical advisor to the Green-e certification program and CRS's green pricing accreditation program. Prior to his employment at Berkeley Lab, Ryan worked for Hansen, McOuat, and Hamrin, Inc., the Bechtel Corporation, and the AES Corporation. He has published a number of research reports and journal articles on renewable energy markets and policy, including articles in The Electricity Journal, Energy Policy, Corporate Environmental Strategy, Public Utilities Fortnightly, Utilities Policy, and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Ryan holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and an M.S. in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.
Tim Woolf, Synapse Energy Economics
Tim Woolf is the Vice President of Synapse Energy Economics. He has nineteen years of experience researching energy and environmental issues. The primary focus of his work includes electricity industry regulation and restructuring; technical and economic analyses of electricity systems; performance-based ratemaking; energy efficiency program design and policy analysis; renewable resource technologies and policies, clean air regulations and policies, municipal aggregation, and many aspects of consumer and environmental protection. Tim has testified as an expert witness in many state regulatory proceedings and has authored numerous reports on electricity industry regulation and restructuring. He also represents clients in relevant working groups, task forces, and settlement negotiations. Tim has published articles on electric utility competition and regulation in Energy Policy, Public Utilities Fortnightly, The Electricity Journal, Utilities Policy, Energy and Environment, and the Review of European Community and Environmental Law. Tim holds an M.B.A. from Boston University and a Diploma in Economics from the London School of Economics, as well as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in English from Tufts University.
Robert Zavadil, Electrotek Concepts, Inc.
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