Forms of Renewable Energy – The State of the Art in Solar, Wind, Hydro & Geothermal (Room A)

When we talk about renewable energy, we must break down renewable energy into its components: What is the state of the art for the major forms of renewable energy?

> SOLAR: A substantial research effort to develop the next-generation of concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants and storage technologies is underway.

> WIND: The technology used to harness the power of wind has advanced significantly over the last 10 years, with the US increasing its wind power capacity 30% year-over-year.

> HYDRO: Hydro power innovators are employing modeling, mathematical optimization, data science, and machine learning to create new ways for hydropower systems to coordinate with the grid.

> GEOTHERMAL: Hot rocks can provide baseload power when there is no sun or wind, and require less land than solar farms or wind. Although the US is the leader in geothermal energy, it is currently only 1% of US power production, but the Energy Department hopes that it can provide 8.5% of America’s electricity by 2050.

MODERATOR:

Chuck Schilke, AM, JD, CRE, FRICS
CEO, Intergreen Consulting
Chuck Schilke will moderate all 3 Panels on the Sustainability and Energy Track. Chuck has a background in energy and environmental matters, principally from having been an environmental lawyer at Exxon Mobil Corporation, as well as in real estate issues related to energy and environmentalism from his work performing all the real estate legal due diligence for the Exxon-Mobil merger. He is a member of the Energy Bar Association, the Environmental Law Institute, and the Urban Land Institute. Chuck was also a Harvard doctoral student in international relations, with an East Asia and Russia emphasis. Read full profile…

PANEL:

Troy Helming
Unicorn Founder, Modern-day Industrialist in Clean Energy, CEO & Founder of EarthGrid PBC, seasoned Founder (3 exits), Author, Speaker, Elite Athlete
Troy Helming is a visionary entrepreneur, innovator, and clean energy pioneer. As a creator, he’s founded companies that have generated more than $10 billion in economic impact to date and invented two technologies that have led to more than 40 clean energy patent claims. Read full profile…

Julia Wood
Partner, Rock Creek Energy Group
Julia Wood is a founding partner of Rock Creek Energy Group, a boutique energy law firm based in Washington, DC. Julia has focused her practice primarily on hydroelectric and electric power
matters since 2003. She provides strategic counsel to a broad variety of electric industry participants, including independent power producers, power marketers, investor-owned utilities, and state and municipal entities. Read full profile…

Avi Halpert
Vice President, Corporate Real Estate, United Therapeutics
As Vice President of Corporate Real Estate for United Therapeutics, Avi leads an award-winning team recognized for commercial construction, sustainable development, green technology, GMP laboratories, Net Zero and LEED-certified office buildings. Read full profile…