2005 SWREC Conference Program
Sunday, July 31
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Opening Reception
The Nexus Between Renewable Energy and Energy Security
As a nation we want our energy resources and infrastructure to be safe, secure and reliable. Disruptions in energy supplies, whether oil, gas or electricity, have drastic consequences for our national security and our economy. Diversification of energy resources through the development of renewable is emerging as an important strategy to improve energy surety. Our keynote speaker will present the energy surety benefits of renewable energy development.
Margie Tatro, Director of Energy Infrastructure and Knowledge Systems Center, Sandia National Laboratories
Monday, August 1
7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration – Promenade
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast – Mesa Ballroom
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Opening Plenary
Climate Change and Western Energy Choices
In the past 50 years carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmospheres have dramatically increased, which most believe will result in a warming of the globe. The United States produces 25 percent of the world’s CO2 primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. International, congressional and state actions have been adopted or proposed that will rely, in part, on developing renewable energy resources to reduce CO2 emissions. The opening plenary session will provide an overview of climate change, the likelihood of carbon regulation, and our options and work being done using renewables to impact greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.
Moderator:
Tom Acker, Associate Professor, Northern Arizona University
Speakers:
Vicki Arroyo, Director of Policy Analysis, Pew Center for Global Climate Change
Bill Real, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, PNM
Resources
Randy Udall, Director, Community Office of Resource Efficiency
Concurrent Sessions
Renewable Energy Technologies: Costs and Trends
Experts on solar, biomass, geothermal and wind energy will present the current state-of-the-art in these renewable energy technologies. A description of the technology, its operating principles, system configurations, performance parameters and costs, and what changes can be expected over the next five to ten years will be presented. The speakers in this session are each members of the Western Governors’ Association’s Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative Task Forces. Each will provide an update on the work of their renewable energy task force. For those people wishing to hear a good overview of the technologies, this is the session for you.
Moderator:
Sandra Begay-Campbell, Tribal Energy Program, Sandia National Laboratories
Speakers:
Roger Hill, Principal Member of the Technical Staff,
Sandia National Laboratories
Steve Ponder, Director of Governmental & Regulatory Affairs-West Coast, FPL Energy
Rhone Resch, Solar Energy Industries Association (invited)
National Energy Policy Efforts
Congress is once again considering a comprehensive energy bill. The production tax credit is slated to expire at the end of this year, and Senators McCain and Lieberman have re-introduced their Climate Stewardship Act on greenhouse gas emissions. Speakers in this session will discuss the latest activities related to passage of a comprehensive energy bill, and any climate change actions in the works and other timely Washington activities related to energy that will impact the Southwest.
Moderator:
Thom Sacco, Director, Office of Indian Energy Programs, U.S. Department of Energy
Speakers:
Paul Moorehead, Former Chief Counsel and Staff Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Kevin Moran, Director, Washington D.C. Office, Western
Governors’ Association
12:10 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.
Luncheon
Putting Solar in Your Gas Tank
Many agree that the solar-hydrogen economy is the end game in renewable energy development. Our keynote luncheon speaker, S. David Freeman, has been pivotal in shaping public awareness and designing governmental laws and the framework for environmental and energy policy for the past thirty years as an advisor to Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Carter. He will provide a look back and share a vision for the path forward to using solar to create hydrogen to run our cars, homes and businesses.
S. David Freeman, Renewable Resource Group
1:20 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Distributed Renewables – Beauty or Beast?
What is the value of customer-sited solar and wind systems to utilities? Advocates for customer-owned distributed renewable energy systems contend that customer-sited renewable generation has value beyond the utility avoided costs. In establishing policies and tariffs related to customer-sited renewable energy systems, the avoided costs of generation, transmission and distribution need to be analyzed, as well as other economic, operational & environmental benefits taken into account. Fully valuing the unique characteristics of small renewable energy systems can increase the strategic utilization of distributed renewable energy on utility systems and significantly improve the economics of customer owned distributed renewable energy systems. This session will consider how utilities should value customer-owned scale renewable energy systems for planning purposes in meeting both energy, and capacity needs of their systems.
Moderator:
Patrick Scharff, Manager, Distribution Planning, PNM
Speakers:
Christopher Cook, Esq. General Counsel, SunEdison, LLC
Greg, Probst, CEO, Mountain West Consulting, LLC
Kitty Wang, Analyst and Consultant, Rocky Mountain Institute
Renewable Energy Policy – Best Practices
States have enacted myriad policies to increase the development and production of electricity from renewable energy resources. Presenters in this session will provide their perspectives on the types of policies enacted by states that are most effective to increase and incent renewable energy development and use. The session will also highlight New Mexico and its comprehensive effort to support renewables.
Moderator:
Phil Doherty, National Coordinator, Wind Powering America, U.S. Department of Energy
Speakers:
Wayne Shirley, Regulatory Assistance Project
Jan Hamrin, President, Center for Resource Solutions
Joanna Prukop, Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Energy,
Minerals and Natural Resources Department
3:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
Networking Break
3:20 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Biomass – Everything under the Sun
With nearly half of the states having adopted various forms of renewable energy standards, biomass continues to be one of the most varied and potentially controversial renewable resources. Biomass fuel definitions have included everything from plant material to tires and municipal solid waste. This session will focus on one category frequently discussed in the West because of recent catastrophic fires – biomass derived from forest-based plant matter.
Moderator:
Kim Kostelnik, Biomass Program Manager, New Mexico State Forestry Division.
Speakers:
Rob Davis, President, Forest Energy Corporation
Taylor McKinnon, Program Director, Forest Conservation, Grand Canyon Trust
Jack Whittier, Program Manager, McNeil Technologies
Forums for Advancing Clean Energy Policy
A variety of forums and mechanisms exist for advocating for clean energy policies at the state level. Policies and decisions adopted at state legislatures and public utility commissions are a primary driver for developing renewable energy resources. This session will use case studies from rule making and rate case proceedings, and legislation and ballot initiatives in southwestern states, to illustrate how to create policy to spur renewable energy development.
Moderator:
Amanda Ormond, Principal, Ormond Group LLC
Speakers:
Ben Luce, Chair, New Mexico Coalition for Clean and Affordable
Energy
Rick Gilliam, Energy Project Senior Technical Advisor,
Western Resource Advocates
Ann Gravatt, Senior Policy Associate, Renewable Northwest Project
Eric Guidry, Energy Project Staff Attorney, Western Resource
Advocates
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Evening Reception
Randall Davey Audubon Center
Network and relax with your peers at our hosted reception at the stunning Randall Davey Audubon Center. The Center is located just three miles from the plaza on 135 acres at the edge of Santa Fe Canyon. The grounds feature an orchard, gardens and the historic Randall Davey home. Transportation will be provided and catered drink and light food will be served.
Tuesday, August 2
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast - Promenade
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Keynote Address - Mesa Ballroom
The Honorable Bill Richardson, Governor, State of New Mexico
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Large-Scale Renewables - Integration and Interconnection Case Studies
Renewable energy can become an important contributor to our electricity supply in the West, helping realize a future with cleaner, inexhaustible, energy resources. However, renewable technologies must be interconnected and integrated into the electrical grid. Intermittent resources such as solar or wind energy pose challenges to utilities attempting to integrated these resources into electrical systems that have historically been designed for baseload facilities. This session will focus on “lessons-learned” from utilities who have successfully integrated intermittent resources into their transmission systems, and the special considerations that were required to address system impacts, costs, and system reliability.
Moderator:
Richard Hayslip, Manager, Environmental, Land and Land Management, Salt River Project
Speakers:
Tom Acker, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering,
Northern Arizona University
Bob Zavadil, V. P. and Principal Consultant, Enernex
Corporation
Voluntary Green Power Markets – New Developments in Renewable Energy Credits and Utility Green Pricing Programs
This session will provide attendees the most current information on the voluntary market for renewable energy - Renewable Energy Credits (REC) and utility Green Pricing Programs (GGP). Speakers will examine the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS), including an overview of the system, its role in adding credibility to the market and details about how it can be used. A 360-degree overview of green pricing programs, offered by many utilities, will bring session participants up to speed on best practices in green pricing programs, including a utility perspective on how to run a successful program. The session is designed to provide utilities, consumers, and renewable energy developers with a better understanding of RECs and meaningful green power programs.
Moderator:
Lori Bird, Senior Energy Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Speakers:
Dan Drennan, Business Developer, PNM
Susan Innis, Green Power Marketing Director, Western
Resource Advocate
Rasa Keanini, WREGIS Program Manager, California Energy
Commission
Thomas J. Starrs, V.P. for Marketing and Sales and COO,
Bonneville Environmental Foundation
10:20 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Concurrent Sessions
Renewable Energy and Transmission Access in the West
A renewable energy resource may be developable and highly desired by the electricity customer, but its economics often depends on the ability to interconnect to the transmission grid, and to transmit the power from a remote location to load centers. Consequently, access to transmission is a key issue to the successful development of renewable energy resources in the West. The future growth of western electricity supplies, including renewable resources, depends upon expansion of the transmission grid, and the development of transmission services and products that provide intermittent resources such as wind and solar better, non-discriminatory access to the grid. This session will discuss the state of the electrical grid in the West, including the need for new transmission to connect load centers to new generation sources, and bottlenecks and congestion along existing transmission paths. The results and status of FERC rule-making and on-going transmission expansion planning processes will also be presented.
Moderator:
Thomas Carr, Attorney & Economist, Western Interstate
Energy Board
Speakers:
Steve Ellenbecker, Energy & Telecom Policy Advisor,
Office of the Governor, State of Wyoming
Bryan Griess, Managing Director, Navigant Consulting
Charlie Reinhold, Project Manager, WestConnect
Tribal Renewable Energy Project Partnerships
Studies on the feasibility of potential renewable energy projects are being undertaken by many organizations today - municipal and investor-owned utilities, private developers, and Native American communities. While each brings resources to the table, partnerships are critical to success of these projects. This session will focus on case studies to share lessons learned that will help us achieve Southwest renewable energy production and installation objectives.
Moderator:
Carolyn Stewart, Associate Director, Navigant Consulting,
Inc.
Speakers:
William Cyr, General Manager, Aha Macav Power Service, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
Richard Hayslip, Manager, Environmental, Land and Land
Management, Salt River Project
Warren Byrne, Managing Director, Foresight Energy
Richard Germain, Associate Director, Navigant Consulting
12:10 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.
Luncheon
The Honorable Jeff Bingaman, US Senator, State of New Mexico
1:20 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Re-Valuing Renewable Energy: The Business Case for Utilities
Utilities in the West are increasingly realizing the “portfolio” benefits of including renewable energy in their resource plans and acquisitions. As a result of price volatility in the electricity and natural gas markets, several recent studies have documented the risk mitigation benefits of adding price-stable renewable energy resources as a “hedge” against uncertain fossil fuel prices and supplies. This session will provide an overview of how electric utilities in the West are assessing the value of renewable energy as part of a diverse, least cost portfolio that provide customers with clean, affordable and reliable electricity supplies.
Moderator:
Larry Barrett, President, Barrett Consulting Associates,
Inc.
Speakers:
Dan Brickley, Manager of Resource Acquisition and Analysis,
Salt River Project
Thomas R. Hiester, Manager, Wind Assets, Puget Sound
Energy
Virinder Singh, Senior Environmental Analyst, PacifiCorp
Accessing Public Lands for Renewable Energy Development
Public lands in the West contain vast amounts of renewable energy resources. This session will discuss the comparative ease or difficulty in accessing state and federal lands for wind and solar generation. Panelists will present current opportunities and obstacles to obtaining permits from the perspectives of state land offices, federal land managers, and proponents of renewable energy.
Moderator:
Roger Clark, Energy and Air Director, Grand Canyon Trust
Speakers:
Timi Goebel, Vice President, Project Development, Western Renewable Energy
Cody Morrow, Manager, State Land Office, State of New
Mexico
Lee Otteni, Program Manager Renewable Energy Resources,
Bureau of Land Management
3:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
Networking Break
3:20 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closing Plenary
Shaping the West - Creating Regional Markets and Interstate Cooperation on Renewables
The West is a vast, unique energy market that relies on flows of power across states lines. For renewable energy to become mainstreamed, it must also flow and be traded easily within the western grid. While most see the benefits of an open market for clean power the absence of national energy policy, in-state only preferences, and lack of tracking and trading mechanisms create challenges. The closing plenary will provide the perspective of an energy developer, clean energy advocate and U.S. Senator on the issues facing the region and their efforts to remove barriers and create policy and seamless markets to spur the development of clean resources.
Speakers:
Ned Farquhar, Energy Policy Advisor, Governor Bill Richardson
Roby Roberts, President, American Wind Energy Association
Jon Wellinghoff, Attorney, Beckley Singleton