4th Microgrid Global Innovation Forum in Washington to Examine Latest Lessons From North America Deployments

The focus is on refining the value proposition and business case for microgrids in North America, integration with the larger grid, and case studies of grid-tied and off-grid projects and pilots to date. Speakers include Duke Energy, CPS Energy, Pepco Holdings, EDF Renewable Energy, NY ISO, Public Service Commission - District of Columbia, and many more.

The microgrid market opportunity in the U.S. is projected to double from $836 million in 2016 to $1.66 billion in 2020, according to GTM Research.* The drivers behind this include the need for greater grid reliability and resiliency, the integration and control of distributed energy resources into the grid, as well as the desire by commercial and industrial end users to control energy costs and adopt more on-site renewable energy generation.


The 4th Microgrid Global Innovation Forum, May 16-17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (http://www.microgridinnovation.com) brings together key thought leaders, utilities, energy providers, and other stakeholders to examine the latest technology developments and lessons learned in the design, implementation and operation of hybrid renewable energy microgrids.

"This will be a tremendous opportunity to interact directly with companies at the cutting-edge of microgrid deployment," says Daniel Coran, editor of the Smart Grid Observer and program manager of the Forum. "Top utilities will be speaking who are pushing the envelope in terms of leveraging microgrids for grid resiliency, service flexibility, and DER integration."

This 4th edition of the Forum will zero in on refining the value proposition and business case for microgrids in North America, integration with the larger grid, and case studies of grid-tied and off-grid projects and pilots to date.

Confirmed speakers for the Washington, D.C. Forum include:

- Thomas Leyden, Senior Director, Distributed Electricity & Storage, EDF Renewable Energy
- Todd Horsman, Senior Director, Strategy & Product Development, CPS Energy
- Aleksandar Vukojevic, Manager-Emerging Technologies Office, Duke Energy
- Robert S. Stewart, Manager-Smart Grid & Technology, Pepco Holdings
- Jorge A. Camacho, P.E., Chief, Office of Infrastructure and System Planning, Public Service
Commission of the District of Columbia
- Jim T. Gallagher, Executive Director, New York State Smart Grid Consortium
- Brian Yung, Market Design Specialist - Distributed Resource Integration, New York Independent
System Operator
- Peter H. Asmus, Principal Research Analyst, Navigant
- Tom Willie, CEO, Blue Pillar
- Kenneth Munson, Co-Founder and CEO, Sunverge Energy
- Adel Nasiri, Ph.D., Director, Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems, U Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Thomas McAndrew, Founding Partner, President and CEO, Enchanted Rock
- Bud Vos, President and CEO, Enbala Power Networks
- Oliver Waissbein, Energy Finance Specialist, UN Development Program
- Andy Haun, Microgrids CTO, North America Operations, Schneider Electric
- Michael T. Burr, Director, Microgrid Institute
- And more

The Forum will be held May 16-17, 2017 in the Marvin Center at the George Washington University. Previous versions of the Forum have been held in Irvine, California; Barcelona, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal.

Topics to be addressed during the two-day conference include:

- Opportunities, Challenges and Market Forecasts
- Assessing Microgrid Potential and Performance to Date
- Adaptive Microgrids: Technology Advances and Utility Business Models
- Energy Storage Developments and Applications for Microgrids
- Lessons from the Implementation of Utility-Owned Islandable Microgrids
- Microgrids, Virtual Power Plants, and the Emerging Energy Cloud
- System Operations, Power Control, and Grid Integration / Interoperability
- Public-Private Partnerships and Utility Cooperation in Microgrids
- Utility's Strategy and Vision for Handling Distributed Energy Resources
- Microgrids-as-a-Service: Delivering Resiliency, Efficiency, Sustainability
- International Microgrids: Opportunities in the Developing World

"North America is a key market for microgrid growth," Coran notes. "This Forum is unique in that attendees will hear directly from utilities who have real world lessons to share and who will be discussing success strategies in this market going forward."

The Microgrid Global Innovation Forum series is organized by the Smart Grid Observer (http://www.smartgridobserver.com), an online information resource covering current trends and developments in smart grid, renewable energy, and greentech sectors around the world.

Attendees who enter the special discount code "SGO" when registering for the Washington Forum will receive 15% off the standard rates.

Event Partners include: Microgrid Media, Greentech Media, Meeting of the Minds, Smart Grid Today, Navigant Research, Solar Server, altenergymag.com, and Environmental Xprt.

For full information and to register, visit http://www.microgridinnovation.com

* U.S. Microgrids 2016: Market Drivers, Analysis and Forecast, GTM Research

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