Agenda

Organiser’s Welcome Keynote Presentation

9:00 – 9:10

Keynote

• Adam Barber, CEO, Tamarindo Group

Headline Sponsor’s Welcome - UL

9:10 – 9:20

Keynote

• ‍Gill Howard Larsen, Global Director, Renewable Energy, UL

Panel Discussion - Onshore wind in the Americas

9:20 – 10:05

Panel

This discussion focuses on the most important issues for onshore wind companies in North America. These include new renewables targets from the US federal government; new hope for the wind production tax credit; and the battle to buy attractive assets as institutions and utilities seek to grow fast. And there’s also the ever-thorny issue of transmission.

Speakers:

• ‍Sandhya Ganapathy, Global Head of Investments and M&A, EDPR
• Michael Pantelogianis, Co-Head of Power & Infrastructure US, EU and UK, Investec
• Susan Nickey, Executive Vice President & Chief Client Officer, Hannon Armstrong
• Yvette Dennis, Senior Vice President – Infrastructure & Project Finance, AIG

Fireside Chat – Repowering strategies

10:05 – 10:30

Fireside chat

This session will look at the growing market for repowering wind farms in the US. What are the emerging best practices for repowering in the US? How can firms find opportunities for repowering that their rivals have missed? We look at this emerging investment opportunity?

Speakers:

• Jeremy Tchou, Director, Wind, North America, UL
• Benjamin Stafford, Sales and Commercial Executive, GE Renewable Energy
• Alex Lowe, Vice President, GE Capital

Fireside Chat – Transmission Impossible

10:30 – 22:55

Fireside chat

This session will tackle questions related to problems with the transmission network:

• How are transmission problems hampering investment?
• How can companies tackle problems with transmission?
• What impact is this having on the siting of new projects?
• Will energy storage help with the management of these grid issues?

Speakers:

• Michael Rucker, Founder & CEO, Scout Clean Energy
• Gabriel Alonso, CEO & President, 547 Energy LLC
• Edward Zaelke, Partner McDermott Will & Emery [Moderator]

WindTech Hub - Interview

10:55 – 11:10

Interview

In partnership with ONYX Insight

Ensure asset-wide profitability through digitalisation & scaling up portfolios  

ONYX Insight’s research shows that the total installed capacity in 2030 will encompass 902GW solar, 1114GW wind, and 87GW storage. And, with 60% of operators set to manage mixed portfolios of wind and solar assets by 2025 according to ONYX Insight’s data, common software platforms for wind and solar will be needed. In this session hear about the common themes ONYX see in the challenge of digitalization across their global customer base. ONYX will also discuss technology they’ve implemented for renewable supermajors that is integrating data silos to enable predictive analytics, improve operations and reduce lost energy.

Speakers:

• Stephanie M. Morley, Conference Producer, A Word About Wind [Interviewer]
• Ashley Crowther, Global VP, ONYX Insight

Networking Coffee Break & Roundtable

11:10 – 11:40

Roundtable

In partnership with Pierce Atwood LLP

States of Play: Overcoming state-level challenges to US offshore wind construction

In this discussion, we focus on the state-level challenges that utilities, developers, contractors and other stakeholders need to overcome to successfully build US offshore wind farms and a thriving US offshore wind industry. These include regulatory hurdles, permitting, supply chain, contractual issues, and skills. Potential questions include:

• Which are the most common obstacles to US offshore wind companies getting 'steel in the water'?
• Why permitting in the US Northeast states can be especially challenging?
• Which states are making the most progress on removing those obstacles? Which need to catch up?
• How to manage the inherent Public Private Partnership (PPP) tensions between private sector goals (crisp execution, on time, on budget  delivery) and public sector goals (maximize local job production and adherence to procurement public bidding bureaucratic requirements)?
• How big are the differences that you see between states in the appetite of politicians for offshore wind?
• Are bullish LCOEs in US offshore tenders putting pressure on how risks are allocated in contracts? (i.e. if margins are slimmer, that adds pressure in the supply chain)
• Should the progress that Vineyard Wind is making through the permitting process give confidence to the developers and contractors at other offshore wind projects?
  

Speakers:

• ‍Richard (Rick) Novak, Partner, Pierce Atwood LLP [Co-moderator]

• Katharine (Katie) Kohm, Partner, Pierce Atwood LLP [Co-moderator]

Panel Discussion - Offshore wind in the Americas

11:40 – 12:25

Panel

This discussion focuses on the emerging offshore wind sector in the US and elsewhere in the Americas, which has taken a huge leap forward in 2021 because of the approval of Vineyard Wind; ambitious policies at federal and state level; and new areas opening up.

Speakers:

• Jude N. Leblanc, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP [Moderator]
• Joris Veldhoven, Commercial and Finance Director, Atlantic Shores
• Howard Coon, Treasurer VP, Avangrid
• Sam Eaton, SVP Offshore Development US, RWE

Fireside Chat – Floating offshore wind: What challenges and opportunities in the West Coast?

12:25 – 12:50

Fireside chat

In this session, we’ll be answering questions such as:

• What challenges are unique to the US market?
• What lessons can be imported from other floating markets?
• How much experience can companies draw from US supply chain and energy experience?

Speakers:

• Richard Heap, Editor-in-Chief, A Word About Wind [Moderator]
• Alla Weinstein, Founder & CEO, Trident Winds Inc.
• Jonah Margulis, Senior Vice President, Aker Offshore Wind

WindTech Hub - Interview

12:50 – 13:05

Interview

In partnership with WindESCo

Tech and Finance Innovations for Maximizing Revenue

This talk will introduce how pairing the latest innovations in AI and IIOT with creative financing solutions can improve revenues 3-5% and offer impressive returns on investment. New technologies that improve AEP without degrading equipment are now commercially available. With the likely extension of the production tax credits in the US, investments in this technology are made even more attractive. Learn how asset managers and investment funds are leveraging these solutions to maximize their fleets’ long term revenue potential.

Speakers:

• Stephanie M. Morley, Conference Producer, A Word About Wind [Interviewer]
• Ed Wagner, Chief Revenue Officer, WindESCo

Networking Lunch Break & Energy Storage Symposium

13:05 – 14:05

Networking

In partnership with Lockton Companies

How to add storage to your renewables portfolio

Energy storage is becoming a big business for wind and solar operators and investors. More companies are adding standalone and hybrid storage projects to their portfolios or looking to do so. How can they do this most effectively? And what are the biggest financial and technical risks in diversifying renewables portfolios with storage? In this session, we’ll be joined by a panel of experts to answer questions such as:

• What portfolio diversification opportunities do storage assets offer?
• Which are the most effective ways to add storage to asset portfolios?
• What are the biggest risks you need to manage when financing these projects and how to mitigate them?
• What needs to happen in order to facilitate greater investment support for energy storage projects in the next 12-24 months?

Speakers:

• Nate Hudson, Senior Vice President, Lockton Companies [Moderator]
• Joan Fang, Partner, Ares Management LLC Infrastructure & Power
• Justin DeAngelis, Partner, Sustainable Infrastructure, Denham Capital
• Nicholas Magliocco, Head of Energy Storage & Hydrogen Procurement, ENEL
• Sara Graziano, Partner, SER Capital Partners

Keynote Interview

14:05 – 14:15

Keynote

Massachusetts’ plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050

Speakers:

• Adam Barber, Founder and CEO, Tamarindo Group‍
• Kathleen A. Theoharides, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Panel Discussion – Corporate PPAs

14:15 – 15:00

Panel

Companies announced almost 12GW of corporate PPAs in US wind and solar in 2020, which was a drop from over 14GW agreed in 2019. In this session, we will look whether 2020 was a blip; the importance of US corporations to PPAs globally; and other off-take strategies.

Speakers:

• Peter Hubbard, Principal Consultant, AFRY Management Consulting [Moderator]
• Laura Caspari, VP - Head of Power Marketing & Commercial Strategy, ENGIE
• ‍Sebastian Kurian, Senior Counsel, Google
• ‍Scott Macmurdo, Director of Commercial Renewable Sales, Duke Energy

WindTech Hub - Interview

15:00 – 15:15

Interview

In partnership with Clir Renewables

Reduce project specific risk with AI powered data set and analytics

‍Using an expansive 200 GW operational performance data set and applying advanced renewables data science Clir's software generates a highly accurate assessment of project specific risk. In this interview, learn how data and ML are advancing the renewable insurance industry by accurately identifying key asset risks including turbine reliability and longevity, operational practices and contractual risk.

Speakers

• Gareth Brown, CEO & Co-founder
• Evan Hobbs, Underwriter, GCube Insurance

Interview: What is the future of wind energy in Canada?

15:15 – 15:30

Interview

Speakers:

• Stephanie M. Morley, Conference Producer, A Word About Wind [Interviewer]
• James Brooks, Managing Director, Energy, Infrastructure & Transition Investment Banking, CIBC Capital Markets
  

Panel Discussion – Power-to-X Strategies

15:30 – 16:15

Panel

We use our final session of the day to look at the power-to-x technologies that companies in wind in North America need to factor into their plans, from batteries to green hydrogen.

Speakers:

• Omar Karar, Vice President of Finance, Apex Clean Energy [Moderator]
• Ravina Advani, Head of Energy Natural Resources & Renewables, BNP Paribas
• Shalini Ramanathan​, Director of Origination, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
• Jared Johnson, Power Origination, ENGIE Global Energy Management Solutions

Closing Remarks

16:15 – 16:30

Event ends

16:30 – 16:30

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