The Business track began with panelists Larry Becker, Benjamin Berry,Phillip Jones and Jessica Matlock discussed threats to the grid, both climate change-related extreme weather and the proliferation of cyber attacks. The bottom line: when it comes to cyber security its matter of when, not if, and you need a plan in place to deal with the inevitable. Moderator: John Pierce, Perkins Coie LLP. Speakers: Larry Becker, Puget Sound Energy | Benjamin Berry, Bonneville Power Administration | Philip Jones, Alliance for Transportation Electrification| Jessica Matlock, Snohomish County PUD
Business track, round two! Bob Kirchmeier, Nate Sandvig and Russ Weed enlightened us to the importance of grid-scale storage. Unfortunately, renewable energy comes from largely intermittent sources, i.e. the sun isn’t always shining, the wind isn’t always blowing, etc. Thus, perfecting large-scale storage is critical to not only clean energy future, but smart and micro grids too! Moderator: Eric Christensen, Cairncross & Hempelmann. Speakers: Bob Kirchmeier, Washington Dept. of Commerce, Nate Sandvig, National Grid, Russ Weed, CleanTech Strategies LLC
The Business track concluded with a panel on new directions in nuclear energy. Though heavily stigmatized, nuclear power has rapidly advanced, with new, greener, more efficient devices on the way. Lenka Kollar, Derek Sutherland and Nick Touran showed us that again, the Pacific Northwest’s innovative spirit and dedication to clean energy has made us a leader in the field. Moderator: Jim Conca, UFA Ventures, Inc. Speakers: Lenka Kollar, NuScale Power, LLC,Derek Sutherland, CTFusion, LLC, Nick Touran, TerraPower.
That’s all for the business track. For more on the Energy Leadership Summit, including the award winner you can check our main recap page or dive into the recaps of our other tracks. Click here for the Innovation Track, or here for the Policy Track.