FALL 2019
Orsted's Kris Ohleth Kick's kicks off ESE Fall 2019 Seminar Series
Speaker: Kris Ohleth, Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, Orsted
Offshore wind energy has been a major source of renewable energy in Europe for nearly three decades, however, there are no utility-scale offshore wind projects here in the United States. Recent developments in the industry over the spring and summer 2019 indicate that might be changing soon. Denmark's Orsted won New Jersey's first offshore wind solicitation with a 1.1-gigawatt project known as Ocean Wind, the largest offshore wind project to secure a development deal with a U.S. state to date. Ocean Wind will be built 15 miles from the Atlantic City coast, with construction expected to begin in the early 2020's and finish in 2024. Almost simultaneously, New York Statestruck deals with Orsted and another developer to build 1,700 megawatts of capacity off Long Island, aiming to have turbines in operation by 2024. Orsted plans to include training programs for new workers -- seen as a critical need for the U.S. wind industry.
Lehigh Professor Jennifer Jensen joins ESE Fall 2019 Seminar Series
Speaker: Jennifer Jensen, Professor of Political Science, Lehigh University
The United States has been supporting utility-scale wind energy development since the 1970‘s, as oil prices skyrocketed. The nation’s first modern wind manufacturing company was founded in 1979, and the world‘s first wind farm — 20 wind turbines rated at 30 kilowatts each — was placed in service in 1980. Today the United States has nearly 100.000 megawatts of operating wind capacity and wind energy generated 6.5% of the nation's electricity in 2018. Throughout this time. wind energy advocates have lobbied at the state and federal level to expand the use of wind energy. Political advocacy takes place in many forms, and it is critical to the success of any energy industry.
In this presentation, Jensen will explore the development and lobbying efforts of the wind energy industry, focusing on the methods and arguments that the industry has used to advance wind energy interests. What arguments does the industry use to advocate for favorable energy policies? Who are winds supporters — and opponents? What tools does the wind industry — still a small player in the U.S. electricity generation market - use to advance its interests? She also examines the current challenges to advance the political interests of the wind energy industry and renewable energy consumers.
"DERMs - Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems"
Speakers: Scott Thomas & Steve Hughes, PPL
Conventional power stations - such as coal-fired gas, and nuclear powered plants—as well as hydroelectric dams and large-scale solar power stations are centralized systems, and often transmit electric energy over long distances. By contrast, DER systems are decentralized, modular, and more flexible technologies, that are located close to the load they serve, albeit having capacities of only 10 megawatts (MW) or less. These systems can comprise multiple generation and storage components; in this instance, they are referred to as hybrid power systems. Several software plattomts have emerged in the past decade to provide the automation and intelligence to implement grid management strategies.
"I nearly blew up the chemistry lab. Can I survive battery energy storage?"
Speaker: Cheryl Cossel, 2013 ESE Alumni & Faculty, The Episcopal Academy
Energy storage has contributed to a new language combining distributed power systems, market economics, and the periodic table. As fast as new chemistries are developed, new market rules emerge. Determining which battery technology type provides the best investment for a particular end-use customer is an ever-changing process requiring intimate knowledge of regional incentives, tariff structures, and the different chemistries of batteries. When appropriately monetized, battery energy storage has the potential to compete with traditional infrastructure improvements, as well as enhance behind the meter opportunities Topics include battery chemistries, applications and limitations, and market structures.
"Utilities of the Future"
Speaker: Matthew Wallace, PPL Electric Utilities Engineer
Increasingly affordable distributed energy resources are shaking up the energy industry The availability of behind the meter generation, storage and controllable loads empower customers to deploy the customized energy solutions that best fit their needs. The electric system, traditionally uniform in its centralized architecture of one-way power flow, is evolving in step with energy democratization. Matt's discussion will include the opportunities distributed energy resources present to the industry, the ongoing modernization of electricity delivery, and PPL's data-driven transformation to a utility of the future. Matt will also entertain questions.
Spring 2020
“Photovoltaic Hosting Capacity & the Interconnection of Photovoltaic Systems”
Speaker: Vince Sheehan, MPR Associates Specialty Engineer & ESE Alum
The interconnection of photovoltaic (PV) systems is not a new phenomenon. However, due to a number of factors including an aging infrastructure, load growth, and the increasing number of generator interconnections, the power grid is significantly more congested than ever before. The costs associated with interconnecting a generator of any kind have skyrocketed over the last few years. Developers wishing to interconnect are forced to upgrade an increasing number of overloaded equipment caused by the connection of their generators. Due to this reality, it is becoming increasingly important for Regional Transmission Operators (RTO’s) and Utilities to gain visibility into the PV hosting capacity of their territories. Furthermore, it is critical for developers to spend time and resources identifying the optimal point of interconnection as an inappropriate selection could be the difference between a financial success and failure.
“Transmission & Distribution Protection, Control and Communication: Design through Implementation”
Speaker: Sean Lerch, ESE 2015 Graduate & PPL Corporation Supervisor
“Grid Reliability & the Role of Analytics”
Speaker: Neelanjan Patri, Tennessee Valley Authority
“Offshore Wind in the United States- An Update”
Speaker: Kris Ohleth, Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, Orsted
Offshore wind energy has been a major source of renewable energy in Europe for nearly three decades; however, there are no utility-scale offshore wind projects here in the United States. Recent developments in the industry over the spring and summer 2019 indicate that might be changing soon. Denmark’s Ørsted won New Jersey’s first offshore wind solicitation with a 1.1-gigawatt project known as Ocean Wind, the largest offshore wind project to secure a development deal with a U.S. state to date. Ocean Wind will be built 15 miles from the Atlantic City coast, with construction expected to begin in the early 2020s and finish in 2024. Almost simultaneously, New York state struck deals with Ørsted and another developer to build 1,700 megawatts of capacity off Long Island, aiming to have turbines in operation by 2024. Ørsted plans to include training programs for new workers — seen as a critical need for the U.S. wind industry. The talk will provide an update.
Panel Discussion: Climate Action Plans 
Speaker: Katharine Targett Gross, Doug Spengel, Kira Lawrence, Nick DeSalvo
Global emissions from the use of fossil fuels for energy, transportation and agriculture are the major contributors to global warming and the consequent climate change effects. If unchecked, climate change will affect vast areas of the planet, resulting in more extreme weather, sea-level rise and widespread loss of flora and fauna. Climate action plans are developed and implemented to meet common goals to minimize these effects on behalf of citizens of a city, county, or state. The plans generally include methods to replace fossil-based energy resources to clean, renewable energy; and to reduce energy consumption, reduce per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint and manage peak energy demand to lower levels. Lehigh University and Lafayette College are striving toward zero-to-low carbon footprint. This panel discussion will lay out what each university is planning to do and/or have dome already to meet certain milestones. Ms. Katharine Targett-Gross is the lead for the Lehigh University Sustainability Plan. Mr. Doug Spengel is the facilities manager and responsible for several energy efficiency programs. Dr. Kira Lawrence and Mr. Nick DeSalvo are the principals in planning and executing the Lafayette College plan. The panel discussion will include the choices made to achieve the goals. A Q&A session will follow.
Con Edison Lectures:Managing the Safe & Reliable Delivery of Electric Power
Speaker: Arie Makovoz, Kashinath Roy, Arnold Wong, Kirill Zolotov
Con Edison subject matter experts will provide a comprehensive set of lectures covering system operations, transmission and grid requirements to maintain high reliability and resilience in large urban settings. The topics (see agenda on the following page) include evolution of the grid infrastructure in the early 20th century to the present day when electricity is indispensable, very reliable, and has many more devices that are connected. The essential elements of the delivery infrastructure include the substation—that is the distribution hub to communities and/or industries—and power lines that enter and exit. The lectures will conclude with crucial insights into utility business models. This event will be of interest to students wishing to pursue a career in energy, and to researchers who require a practical understanding of the grid. From 12:45-1:15 time will be set aside for Q & A. About Con Edison: Con Edison operates one of the world’s largest energy delivery systems. Founded in 1823 as the New York Gas Light company, its electric, gas, and steam service now provides energy for the 10 million people who live in New York City and Westchester County. The company is always looking toward the future and exploring ways to innovate and take advantage of developing technology for the efficient delivery of electric power to their customers.
