Powering the 21st Century: Tufts Energy Forum Hosts Fourth Annual Conference

IGL News | Posted Apr 29, 2009

NEXUS | The IGL Newsletter | Spring 2009

By Alex Clough and Peter O’Regan

The 4th annual Tufts Energy Conference, “Global Green Infrastructure: Powering the 21st Century”, took place on Saturday, March 28th in Tufts' new and environmentally-friendly Sophia Gordon Hall. It was a highly successful event that brought together students and professionals interested in improving our means of power generation, transmission, and delivery, in both domestic and international markets. The conference was presented by the Tufts Energy Forum, an undergraduate student group on campus and received additional sponsorship from the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership (TEF’s parent organization), the Tufts Climate Solutions Coalition, and the Tufts Institute of the Environment.

The conference consisted of three panels, three keynote speakers, and a networking lunch. The opening panel, “Innovation and Diffusion of New Infrastructure Technologies”, explored issues of energy efficiency, with panelists discussing means of financing and designing new technologies on both small and large scales. Panelist Richard Larson, Director of the Center for Engineering System Fundamenals at MIT, discussed his novel energy box concept, which would coordinate basic household appliances with the grid to improve efficiency and avoid peak usages of power. On a grander scale, Rob Pratt of Energy Climate Solutions discussed his company's efforts to coordinate efficiency projects at a city-wide level.

Following the first panel, Peter Droege, renowned expert of solar technologies and former IGL INSPIRE fellow, delivered the first keynote via video conference from the Swiss Alps. Droege focused on the prospects of building a global solar economy, using a visually thrilling presentation. He argued that the potential for solar remains untapped and that many in the world unconnected to grids would be able to access solar power cheaply, making it an environmentally and socioeconomically positive development. Droege urged that the development of a global solar economy was essential given the bitter prospects presented by global warming.
Mr. Droege's keynote preceded the conference's second panel, “Revitalizing National Infrastructure.” This panel focused on the United States' energy grid, with representation from New England utilities, two nonprofits (the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and the Union for Concerned Scientists), and A123 Systems, one of America's most-forward thinking battery companies. All panelists stressed the need to improve the US national grid. Some examined the prospects for V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) implementation, whereby electric cars would sell power to the grid when fully charged and buy it back when charging. Alan Noggee of the Union for Concerned Scientists provided support for the drive to eliminate carbon-based fuels as soon as possible with a presentation on renewable energy market growth. Suzanne Watson of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy looked at the economic and policy changes that could help move this project forward.

After this fascinating panel, all of the participants and attendees enjoyed lunch in the Remis Sculpture Court. A large number of attendees were professionals and used the opportunity to talk with fellow professionals and interested students. Many prominent local and international organizations were represented, including Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the Environmental Protection Agency, EnerNoc, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, and the Aberdeen Group.

After lunch, Gregg Dixon, Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development at EnerNoc, one of the nation's leading demand response companies, delivered the day's second keynote. Over the years, EnerNoc has employed ten Tufts alumni and maintains a strong working relationship with the university. Mr. Dixon emphasized EnerNoc's importance to national infrastructure in ensuring that the institutions it serves use their power responsibly and efficiently. In other words, by encouraging more efficient consumption of power in an economic way, EnerNoc clients are able to perform at a lower cost while helping to manage demand for power during hours of high power consumption, helping to avoid grid overload.

Following Mr. Dixon's keynote was the third and final panel of the day, “Powering the Developing World.” This panel focused on the efforts of two entrepreneurs, Richard Hansen of Soluz, Inc. and Sam White of Promethean Power, who both spoke on the efforts of their companies to work in developing countries to promote low-cost solutions that helped provide their clients with clean power. They presented the challenges they faced with poor infrastructure and governmental bureaucracy in their operating regions (primarily India and Latin America). Professor Michael Caramanis of Boston University spoke on the challenges of bringing electric infrastructure to the developing world and on the importance of developed countries assisting in this process.

The final event of the afternoon was a keynote by Mindy Lubber, president of CERES, a nonprofit that brings together business leaders, environmental groups, and other stakeholders to encourage more environmentally-sustainable practices in business. Ms. Lubber stressed the need for action to arrest the development of inefficient, unsustainable methods in various industries, arguing that the problem of global warming was too dire to leave alone any longer. She called on the students in the audience to act quickly and decisively against global warming and argued that massive changes to our nation's infrastructure were necessary to halt global warming. Further, she asserted that national policies, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, were inevitable and essential.

The Fourth Annual Tufts Energy Conference successfully brought together students and industry professionals to share ideas on improving energy infrastructure. For more information on the 2009 Tufts Energy Conference and the Tufts Energy Forum please visit the Tufts Energy Forum page on the Institute for Global Leadership website.

Alex Clough’09 and Peter O'Regan’10 were the Conference Co-Chairs of the Tufts Energy Conference

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