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June 25, 2021
Find out more about the briefings in this series below:
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view our briefing series about the climate benefits of modernizing the nation’s energy system.
The energy system is rapidly transforming, especially at the “grid edge” where “smart” building technologies, electric vehicles, and distributed energy generation combine and interact in new ways. These innovations provide opportunities to re-envision the nation’s energy system and how we use, store, and move energy around the country. They also create new ways to increase the resilience of people, communities, and the system itself without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Briefing panelists discussed policy opportunities such as a federal energy efficiency resource standard, state level efforts, and the nexus between buildings, transportation, energy storage, and the grid.
Opening remarks by Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
Monica Neukomm, Technology Manager for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB), United States Department of Energy - Building Technologies Office (BTO)
Eilyan Bitar, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University
Janet Besser, Managing Director, Smart Electric Power Alliance
Dana Cabbell, Director, Integrated System Strategy, Southern California Edison
Q&A
Q: Innovation, interconnectedness, and integration at the grid edge are rapidly picking up speed. But we are not quite where we need to be. How would you describe the main challenges ahead? Policy or regulatory, technological, human behavior, or something else?
Q: What are the types of incentives we need and what are the information gaps that are preventing incentives from being deployed effectively?
Q: What would you say to someone who questions whether grid-edge advancements could truly make our energy supply more resilient and more reliable? What would you say if they claimed that grid-edge integration inadvertently creates haves and have nots?
Highlights compiled by Ashlyn Devine