5th Annual Clean and Sustainable Energy Summit

The Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center (CESAC) at Montclair State University is proud to organize its 5th Annual Clean and Sustainable Energy Summit, to accelerate actionable solutions in clean energy. The transition to a low-carbon economy and delivering secure and affordable energy through sustainable sources is a challenge. This Summit will be an invaluable opportunity to advance the evolving clean energy economy throughout the State of New Jersey, and the greater Northeast region, as we move towards a clean energy future.

This forum will provide a venue for informed participant-driven discussion on clean energy technology, policy, and acceptance between industry experts, policymakers, academia, investors, technology startups, environmental groups and other stakeholders to encourage collaboration and project development. Our discussions will focus on key aspects of offshore wind power, energy security and resilience, energy efficiency innovation, geothermal development and deployment, and catalyzing clean technology development. The Summit will also feature student research poster presentations, along with opportunities for high-level networking.

In support of K-12 education, the Summit is again hosting the K-12 Keep Our Planet Green artwork contest, that showcases artwork from New Jersey students and teachers for a chance to win prizes.

Since the founding of CESAC in June 2018, the Center has continued efforts to advance the sustainable clean energy economy by providing research, analysis, education, and outreach on policies, technology, and practices. The Center’s approach is rooted in objective analysis, using science-based environmental and economic techniques for energy and environmental planning. Our work aims to provide real-world insights to regulators, businesses, and the general public. While the Center fosters faculty and student research in the area of clean energy and sustainability analytics, one of our key efforts has been to facilitate collaborative discussion between energy stakeholders and policy makers. We hope that this year’s summit will be an invaluable opportunity to address the evolving clean energy transition in New Jersey and beyond, and that together we can move towards a clean energy future.

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Agenda

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Check-in, Breakfast and Networking

9 AM – 9:45 AM

Welcome and Opening Plenary

Pankaj Lal, Director, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center

Message from United States Senator Cory Booker

Lora Billings, Dean, College of Science and Mathematics

Upendra Chivukula, Senior Advisor CESAC and Commissioner Emeritus

Keynote Address:  Senator Bob Smith, Chair, Senate Energy and Environment

9:45 AM – 11:00 PM

Session 1: Offshore Wind Economy: Transition and Deployment

Moderator: Upendra Chivukula, Senior Advisor CESAC and Commissioner Emeritus

Presenters:

Ahmed Chaudry, Director of the Wind Institute of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)

Damian Bednarz, Managing Director, Attentive Energy Two

Michael Porto, Senior Director, Senior Director, External Engagement, Offshore Development, Invenergy

Paulina O’Connor, Executive Director, New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance

Offshore wind (OSW) is gaining momentum off the coasts of New Jersey and New York reflected in recent approval of Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy Two projects with a combined capacity of 3,742-megawatts (MW). This session will explore recent developments in area of OSW, learnings from industry’s early journey on OSW, stakeholder engagement to foster collaboration, balancing the development of OSW with all ecosystems involved in traditional ocean uses, grid interconnection, and workforce development.

11:00 AM – 11:15 AM

Networking Break 

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 2:  Energy Security and Resilience for an Evolving Energy Grid

Moderator: Benjamin Witherell, Chief Economist, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

Presenters:

James Bruncati, Bureau Chief, Emergency Management & Security, NJ Board of Public Utilities

Chris Beck, Chief Scientist & Vice President Electric Infrastructure Security Council

Shucheng Yu, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology

Matthew Bernstein, Senior Policy Advisor, Governmental Services, PJM Interconnection

The security and resilience of our energy transmission network is vital to our way of life.  The characteristics of how we generate and consume energy are changing rapidly.  With greater reliance on energy-intensive technologies, challenges around fuel switching, evolving weather patterns, supply chain disruptions, and increasing levels of distributed energy, there is a critical need to balance energy-sector aspirations against the reality of threats to today’s energy infrastructure. This session explores pathways towards a more secure and resilient energy future, including interconnected issues of grid security and resilience, workforce needs, software and hardware vulnerability, technology modernization, data and digital transformation, and operational excellence.

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch 

12:30 PM – 12:50 PM

“Keep our Planet Green” K-12 Artwork Contest

We’ve invited K-12 teachers across NJ schools to submit their students’ artwork based on a future based on clean and sustainable energy.

1:00 PM – 1:20 PM

Luncheon Keynote 

Keynote Address: President Christine Guhl Sadovy, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

1:30 PM – 2:45 PM

Session 3: Energy Efficiency Innovation for Equitable Decarbonization

Moderator: Kevin Monte de Ramos, Bureau Chief – Energy Efficiency and Building Decarbonization, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

Presenters:

Tim Fagan, Manager Planning & Evaluation, Public Services Electric & Gas Company

Anne-Marie Peracchio, Managing Director Marketing and Energy Efficiency, New Jersey Natural Gas

Sirajuddin Shaikh, Senior Engineer, Jersey Central Power & Light Company

Candyce Rountree, Manager of Residential Energy Efficiency, Exelon

Frank Vetri, Energy Efficiency Manager, Elizabethtown Gas

New Jersey has a robust ecosystem for highly effective efficiency (EE) programs. The session will highlight the learnings from Triennium 1 EE framework, whereby utilities established EE and peak demand reduction programs that reduced customer electricity and natural gas usage within their territories. This panel will feature a discussion with utilities, state agencies and other stakeholders to accelerate current and future energy efficiency programs, lessons about how to improve these programs, and the need for creative, innovative, and scalable technology, practices, and solutions for equitable decarbonization.

2:45 PM – 3:00 PM

Networking Break

3:00 PM – 4:15 PM

Session 4: Geothermal Energy Development & Deployment

Moderator: Zenon Christodolou, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

Presenters:

Anthony Bevacqua, Climate Change, Clean Energy & Sustainability, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Meghann Smith, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center

Brett Pevear, Project Manager TRC Companies

Heather Deese, Senior Director Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Dandelion Energy

New Jersey has recently launched efforts to develop geothermal projects and integrate the energy source into the state’s renewables portfolio. Recent endeavors such as state agencies partnerships for pilot projects have revitalized the importance of geothermal in the energy mix, not just in electricity generation, but also in direct use of heat for district heating and industrial applications, and geothermal heat pumps in residential and commercial buildings. This panel session will discuss the role of geothermal energy in the state’s energy goals, emerging technologies, market challenges and opportunities, and environmental issues associated with this transition.

4:15 PM – 4:30 PM

Networking Break 

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Session 5: Catalyzing Clean Technology Development

Moderator

Judith Sheft, Executive Director, Commission of Science Innovation & Technology

Presenters:

William Jiang, CEO, PineGem Technologies

Sevdalin Semov, CEO, SWIND POWER

Frank Jackson, CEO Shutterbug Exchange

Abhay Pande, Senior Advisor and Co-lead of Transition Finance Advisory, Pollination Group

How are startups and investors looking at the landscape ahead for energy and sustainability? In this panel speakers will share their thoughts on startup opportunities, experience, accelerating high-impact clean energy technology development and ultimately deploying those technologies into the private sector for use by consumers and businesses. The focus will be how can academic partnerships facilitate technology evolution and analytics needs.

5:30 PM – 5:45 PM

K-12 Keep Our Planet Green Competition Winners Announcement & Closing Remarks

Meghann Smith & Pankaj Lal, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center

5:45 PM – 7:45 PM

Reception

Register Here

View directions to campus and from the parking deck to the event.