Two-day conference explores the underlying ecosystem powering today’s energy systems.
by Alyson Powell Key
On April 10-11, the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech hosted 200 researchers, academics, and industry executives from around the world in Technology Square for the 2019 INTERSECT Conference, focused this year on The New Energy Ecosystem. The executive-level annual summit examined how the nation’s energy system and functions are evolving, including suppliers, markets, and expertise.
The conference kicked off with the Innovation Trek, which highlights start-up and technology companies and their role in driving change in the energy industry. Conference guests toured business incubators in Tech Square, including the Accenture Innovation Hub and Southern Company EIC.
INTERSECT 2019 Innovation Trek in the Centergy Building, Tech Square
Affiliated faculty and students with the Energy, Policy, and Innovation Center (EPICenter), a division of the Strategic Energy Institute, provided updates on their work in energy policy and technology and explored what’s on the horizon. EPICenter Director Richard Simmons asked, “What are we trying to accomplish in the next decade?”
The center announced the upcoming release of an Energy 101 online course that contextualizes key energy themes and addresses strategic attributes, challenges, and differentiating capabilities that typify the Southeast. And, a joint team between the Schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Aerospace (AE) will study the potential for blockchain-enabled transactive energy, using simulation as a means to better understand systems of interest.
EPICenter’s focus is the intersection of policy and innovation—accelerating reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy options, while enhancing energy leadership and competitiveness in digitalization, resilience, equity, and public outreach.
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Tim Lieuwen, executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute, formally welcomed guests to Georgia Tech and INTERSECT 2019 and explored what he called not a new, but “evolving energy ecosystem,” and how it becomes interconnected over time due to changes such as the electrification of transportation, decarbonization, and cybersecurity.
INTERSECT 2019 Leadership panel: Tom Fanning, Chairman, President & CEO, Southern Company; Jim Hannan, Executive VP, KOCH Industries Inc. & CEO, KOCH Enterprises; G.P. “Bud” Peterson, President, Georgia Tech; Mary Anne Hitt, Director, Beyond Coal campaign, Sierra Club; Terry Boston, retired President and CEO, PJM Interconnection
The first panel of INTERSECT 2019 examined the energy company of the future. Panel moderator and Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson asked, “What will the energy company of the future look like in five, 10, 15, and 20 years?”
Jim Hannan, executive vice president of KOCH Industries and CEO of KOCH Enterprises, acknowledged that “things will be different, but it’s not easy to predict how they’ll be different.”
Panelists discussed a variety of energy choices for consumers—microgrids, wind, solar, and nuclear—and agreed that clean energy should be readily available. “Clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy must all work together,” said Tom Fanning, chairman, president & CEO of Southern Company.
MaryAnne Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, said her organization’s three drivers are clean energy, low bills, and choice for customers.
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After a reception and dinner, Charles Whitmore, retired senior market analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, delivered the evening’s keynote address on The New Energy Ecosystem: A Historical Perspective. He highlighted the evolution of the electric power industry over the past 30 years and the forces that shaped it: marketization and decarbonization.
“There’s no question that the electric industry is less carbon-intensive today than it was thirty years ago; that’s obvious from the shift to natural gas and renewables and the changed pattern of emissions,” said Whitmore. “But no one would claim the policy as a political success story. We all know that today’s carbon debates are highly partisan and bitterly controversial.”
Whitmore said that despite the political and partisan nature of decarbonization, technology such as fracking has aided its advancement.
Download Charles Whitmore’s full INTERSECT keynote address
He also predicted that wind, solar, and battery power could eventually see the same success as fracking, as the costs are now declining.
INTERSECT 2019 keynote speaker Charles Whitmore, retired senior market analyst, U.S. Energy Information Administration
The day’s second panel, moderated by Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, distinguished professor of practice at Georgia Tech and former U.S. deputy secretary of energy, focused on The New Energy Platforms. “Which platforms will define our energy future?” she asked. “Who will be the leaders to create and capitalize?
Wallace Buran, partner at Consequent and managing director of CXO Advisors, said that although there are a few fundamental platforms, we should “look beyond the technologies, infrastructure, and business models of today.”
From the perspective of an energy company, Alistair Warwick, vice president of fleet services for BP Wind Energy, predicts renewables such as wind power and hydrogen will define the future. BP is also investing in electric vehicles, which Warwick said will transform the oil industry. He urged policymakers, academia, and environmentalists to collaborate on additional sustainable energy solutions.
Panelists also discussed cities as a platform, including the next generation of smart cities, which will go beyond technology. “Smart cities 2.0 is about aligning the stakeholders who will define objectives and achieve transformational outcomes,” said George Karayannis, vice president of CityNow, Panasonic USA.
INTERSECT 2019 New Energy Platforms panel: Dennis McGinn, retired Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy; Wallace Buran, Partner, Consequent and Managing Director, CXO Advisors; Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Distinguished Professor of Practice, Georgia Tech and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy; Alistair Warwick, Vice President of Fleet Services, BP Wind Energy; George Karayannis, Vice President, CityNow, Panasonic USA
GE Power, ScottMadden, Inc., and Southern Company co-sponsored INTERSECT 2019. View conference presentations on the INTERSECT website and see additional conference photos on the Strategic Energy Institute Facebook page.