INTERSECT2017: ENERGY POLICY AND INNOVATION
An Optimistic Outlook for Energy Innovation in the Southeast
The first annual INTERSECT conference led by the Georgia Institute of Technology hosted 160 energy executives to discuss the future of innovation in energy and to launch Georgia Tech’s newly formed Energy, Policy and Innovation Center (EPICenter). INTERSECT2017 was held to gain input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders exploring energy innovation as a dynamic system considering challenges through the lens of multiple perspectives. Hosted by Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute and sponsored by Southern Company, Siemens, and the American Energy Innovation Council, the conference was highlighted by several panels including insights from CEOs, such as Southern Company’s Tom Fanning, Siemens Energy Management’s Kevin Yates, and a keynote by former Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz.
Key Takeaways:
- The scale and pace of innovation over the last two decades has produced technological solutions more quickly than policy, regulation, and markets have been able to adapt.
- Innovation, defined broadly, includes critical technological, business model, and regulatory aspects, which interact to determine the effectiveness of deployment.
- The future of energy innovation will be driven by two interrelated themes: “Energy in the Information Age” and “Energy in a Carbon Constrained World”.
- The deployment of sustainable energy innovations has both near term and long term strategic implications, and different approaches and solutions are needed for each.
- The Southeast provides unique opportunities for leading innovation through its ability to take a long view in deploying bold, transformative solutions.
- Many corporate entities are self-regulating and aspiring to sustainable business practices because customers are increasingly demanding it.
- Attendees were challenged to consider appropriate horizons for implementation as well as the on-going need to improve the economic sustainability of new technologies.
- There are huge upsides to improved collaborations, especially in the Southeast, where key strengths can be leveraged.
For a more detailed report, click INTERSECT2017_ConferenceOverview.
INTERSECT2018: ENERGY IN AN INFORMATION AGE
The second annual INTERSECT conference, hosted by the Georgia Tech’s EPICenter, assembled and hosted a diverse group of researchers, academics, and executives to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapidly evolving energy industry. The theme of the 2018 INTERSECT, Energy in an Information Age, included perspectives from thought leaders, such as Southern Company’s Tom Fanning, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, and New York Power Authority CEO Gil Quiniones, as well as panels covering technology, business models, policy and equity. The keynote delivered by Admiral Bob Willard of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, highlighted the call for a new generation of leaders to take a strategic, bold and long term approach to guide the transformation towards a new energy future.
Key Takeaways
- Ownership and access to data will determine the winners and losers in the new economy emerging around digitalization.
- Guaranteeing resilience will be challenging for all existing and future energy infrastructure. Assuming the attainment of strong data and isolation capabilities, innovative distributed and hybrid grid models may present opportunities for reducing threats and increasing cybersecurity.
- New solutions are needed to understand and improve energy equity, and to ensure that the benefits of technological innovations are distributed evenly across society.
- The changing role of customers, including prosumers and novel business models, will make collaboration in the new energy era essential.
- Regionally-focused efforts and multi-stakeholder processes that incorporate a breadth of perspectives, as well as timely data and tolls, will become imperative instruments in developing strategic and robust resource plans.
For a more detailed report click INTERSECT2018_ConferenceOverview