Industry Program

The Industry Panels sub-committee is chaired by Charlie Myers, president of the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition(MHC), co-host of the Conference since its inception in 2005.

Panels

• BioEnergy
• Combined Heat & Power
• Efficiency & Energy Services
• Energy Storage
• Portable Power
• Smart Grid
• Solar Energy
• Wind Power
• Electric Car
• Ocean Energy:International Progress
• Ocean Energy:US Regulatory Environment
• Ocean Energy:Deployment in America
• Solid State Lighting
• Waste as an Energy Feedstock 
• Green Buildings
• Green Computing

BioEnergy

Biofuels are being used in transportation and heating applications, with significant technical efforts being applied to lower the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol, among other fuels. The convergence of advanced biotech capabilities with bioenergy development is creating a new field within the clean energy cluster. This panel will explore the technical advances underpinning the development of advanced biofuel development.

Panelists

• Campione, Troy

Combined Heat & Power

Combined heat and power remains a largely untapped market opportunity in the United States and around the world, with opportunities in both residential and commercial/industrial markets. With overall efficiencies reaching 90%, CHP systems are compelling from both an economic and environmental perspective, although overall system costs remain relatively high compared to standard available solutions. This panel will review the status of markets and technologies associated with both residential CHP and larger commercial./industrial CHP systems.

Efficiency and Energy Services

Efficiency and energy services have been growing significantly in recent years, with the potential remaining vast and largely untapped. Advances in energy management, energy efficiency and demand response technologies and business models, coupled with advanced time-of-use and other innovative rate structures, are creating whole new markets for innovative clean energy entrepreneurs. This panel will explore the expanded business models being pursued by energy services and efficiency companies to take advantage of this vast untapped market.

Energy Storage

Significant investments on a global scale are pouring into advanced development of energy storage systems, targeting market opportunities in electric and hybrid vehicles as well as the electricity grid. A variety of technologies are being developed to address these challenges, ranging from flow batteries for megawatt scale applications, flywheels for transmission voltage management, lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, and ultra-capacitors for quick energy bursts in transportation and backup power. This panel will review key markets and the status of critical technologies enabling clean energy through advanced energy storage.



Portable Power

Portable power applications are creating significant market demand for micro fuel cells and related technologies. With higher power densities and longer run times, fuel cell systems offer significant performance advantages over battery-based energy storage solutions. The consumer markets and applications being pursued include laptops, cell phones and personal digital assistance devices for micro-fuel cells, and portable power electric generators for recreational vehicle and marine applications. In military markets, applications range from radio power, mine sweeping robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, and auxiliary power units for trucks and tanks.



Smart Grid

Advances in communications and control technologies are being applied to advance the management and effectiveness of the electric grid. Advance in metering technologies are creating opportunities for customers to more effectively manage and lower their electric power costs through automated controls and information systems. This panel will present a number of technologies being applied in advanced metering systems to accelerate the realization of the smart grid from a customer perspective.




Solar Energy

The photovoltaic industry continues to race ahead, with an expanded array of market incentives at both the state and federal levels, driving demand for economic solutions. The investment community sees grid parity approaching, with huge growth potential remaining. Manufacturers and developers have been challenged in recent years, earlier by constrained access to silicon feed stock, limited supply of panels driving up costs, while more recently, a freeze on capital markets stopped good projects dead in their tracks and panel costs dropping precipitously with foreign competitors and a glut of unsold systems on the market. This panel will review the status of markets and technologies that continue to create unheralded business opportunities for manufacturers, developers and investors.

Wind Power

Although there are ample wind resources throughout the United States, and the economics of wind power are generally compelling from an investment perspective, the realization of this potential has been stymied by extensive siting issues and access to cost effective transmission capacity. Near the population centers in the East and the West, the off shore wind resource is extensive, yet no projects have been completed in the United States. This panel will review the business opportunity, technology and development challenges associated with wind, with a special focus on off shore wind.

Electric Car

Just like the early days of gasoline cars when there were no gas stations, paved roads or repair shops, to make electric vehicles a reality there's a whole ecosystem and infrastructure that needs to be developed to support them. The panel will discuss what they are doing in the next year or two to make EVs a reality. Find out how these diverse industries are coming together to give us all the option to EV or not to EV.

Panelists

• Warner, John
  
• Bastien, Peter
  
  

  Ocean Energy: International Progress

  Ocean Energy: International Progress - Technology and Industry: Many Paths to Success
  This panel will bring international developer's perspectives to bear on what the US can expect relative to lessons learned; offer examples of effective policies to support economic development of the ocean energy sector; and discuss technology challenges to getting gear in the water.

  

  Ocean Energy: US Regulatory Environment

  Ocean Energy: The US Regulatory Environment - Governments and Agencies:  Working Together. This panel will host representatives from US Minerals Management Service, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, National Oceanic and Oceanographic Administration, and state regulatory representatives to consider how best to collaborate to streamline permitting processes.

  

  Ocean Energy: Deployment in America

  Ocean Energy: Deployment in America - Who Is Getting Into the Water: What's New in the New World?This panel will host several ocean energy developers who will talk about their experiences at getting gear in the water in US and Canadian waters. Their perspectives on navigating the regulatory and financial waters in the US and Canada will shine a light on the many opportunities and uncertainties that the emerging ocean energy industry offer.

   

  

  Solid-State Lighting

  Lighting today accounts for a quarter of the energy used in the US today per the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). But, according to the DOE, SSL has the potential to cut U.S. lighting energy use by one-third by 2030, yielding cumulative cost savings of $280 billion. Within 10 years, the DOE sees LEDs overtaking incandescent lighting to become the main light source in residential lighting applications and business and outdoor applications look just as bright. The panel will explore where LEDs are today and what advances we can look forward to in just the near future.

  • Anderson, Jim
    
  • Czech, Ken
    
  • Carlson, Jason
    
  • Keefe, Christopher
    
  • Pincince, Tom
    
  

  Green Buildings

  What are the new "best practices" in green buildings? Specifically, what green technologies and services are being currently deployed and integrated into new and retrofit buildings. What new companies are getting investment for creative green building solutions of all kinds? And perhaps most important what remain to be the big technology and energy challenges for all types of buildings - big and small - residential, retail, office etc?.that are looking for creative (and profitable) solutions.