Disruption in Power Gen Markets

Disruption in the Power Generation Markets

Falling solar PV prices, ongoing interest in green energy, and continuing threats to grid reliability--highlighted by events such as Superstorm Sandy--are helping to drive investments in distributed generation, which are challenging traditional utility business models. Companies such as Apple, Google, Verizon, WalMart, and Walgreen’s are spearheading major green energy investments that involve on-site power generation and reduce both their reliance on the grid and on the traditional utility. A further challenge comes from companies such as SolarCity, whose business model sidesteps the utility entirely. SolarCity’s customers include not only residential rooftops for solar PV, but also the U.S. military--the world’s largest energy consumer--which is emerging as a major driver of distributed and renewable generation.

All of this raises some fundamental questions:

• What is the size of the DG investment being made by the top companies, and what are the true driving forces behind it?
• To what extent is legislation and government policy influencing the move to DG?
• What opportunities and threats to conventional electricity generators result from DG, and what steps can the industry take to mitigate their effects?
• How will other emerging disruptive trends -- like cost-effective electricity storage, fuel cells, and microgrids – further challenge the traditional power company business model?
• What will the power generation company of the future look like, given the rise of DG?

Attendees at the Disruption in the Power Generation Markets Workshop during RETECH will have the opportunity to network with C-level executives and business planners from power generator companies, military spokespeople, industry lobbyists, government representatives, and investors in DG, to begin a dialog and eventually answer these crucial questions for the future.

Monday, September 9th

08.30	Registration
09.00	Introduction and welcome
09.15	Keynote speaker: Sizing the disruption -Dr. Timothy Brennan, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
09.45	Effect of policy on shift to distributed power -Katherine Hamilton, Principal, 38 North Consulting
10.15	Coffee break
10.30	Roundtable of Utility CEOs: Opportunities and threats to the utilities resulting from the trend -Bobby Hollis, Executive, Renewable, NV Energy -Rhone Resch, President, Solar Energy Industries Association -Julia Hamm, President, Solar Energy Producers Association -Dan Bakal, Director of Electric Power Programs, CERES
11.30	POWER: Survey results presentation
12.15	Lunch
13.30	Brand-owner panel: What drives distributed generation decisions?
14.15	The US military’s distributed generation plans
14.45	Distributed generation and security – More secure or providing new entry points for the hackers?
15.15	Coffee break
15.30	The role of new storage systems in a disrupted future
16.00	Closing keynote: Should utilities go into rooftop solar markets? -Tom Hulseboch, Managing Director, Energy and Utility Practice, West Monroe Partners
16.30	CLOSE

Cost is $499 and includes access to the RETECH Showcase Hall.
Limited to 100 participants, so register right now!

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