The Energy Conversation             

September 15th, 2009 

Dr. Imre Gyuk, Director of Storage Research, U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Arnold Quinn, FERC, Director of the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation

Dr. Kenneth J. Lutz, Office of Senator Ron Wyden

The Power of Storage - A 21st Century Energy Revolution

Traditional electricity distribution balances load and generation from instant to instant, hand to mouth, much as the food supply of primitive hunter-gatherer tribes. Given the ready availability of fossil fuel this scheme has served society well, with generation being adjusted to follow the variable load. But this has become a dangerous path. We have come to learn that profligate use of fossil fuel brings with it global warming. Reduction of carbon footprint and, therefore, the introduction of renewable generation has become imperative. But renewable wind or solar generation is intermittent and does not follow the diurnal load pattern. Increasing penetration of renewables will place a severe strain on the reliability of the grid. Energy storage provides the buffer, which mediates between variable generation and variable load. It enables deeper penetration of renewables by making them more dispatchable, increases grid reliability, and yields better asset utilization for transmission and distribution. However, energy storage is also a disruptive technology – once it is widely adopted, the electricity business will never be the same.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

5:30 - 8:15PM

L'Enfant Plaza Hotel

480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW

Washington, D.C.

Directions to L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Metro stop on Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange lines

Inside directions to Hotel: Up escalator, through the glass doors. First right. Look at overhead signs to hotel, brown doors on right with no signage. We will post a sign for the meeting. Up the stairs to hotel lobby.

BIOS:

Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of Energy

After taking a B.S. from Fordham University, Dr. Gyuk did graduate work at Brown University where he was research assistant to Nobel Laureate Leon Cooper working on superconductivity. Having received a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Purdue University, he became a Research Associate at Syracuse. As an Assistant Professor he taught Physics, Civil Engineering and Environmental Architecture at the University of Wisconsin. Research interests included the theory of elementary particles, metallurgy of non-stoichiometric alloys, non-linear groundwater flow, and architectural design using renewable energy and passive solar techniques. Dr. Gyuk became an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Kuwait University where he organized an international Workshop on the Environment of the Arab Gulf, and was a member of the Emir’s Taskforce on Technology and the Future of Kuwait. After six years in the Gulf, Dr. Gyuk joined the Department of Energy to manage the Thermal and Physical Storage program. Later he managed DOE's research on biological effects of electric and magnetic fields. Currently he directs the Energy Storage research program of the Department of Energy which funds work on a wide variety of technologies such as advanced batteries, flywheels, super-capacitors, and Compressed Air Energy Storage.

Dr. Arnold Quinn, Office of Energy Policy and Innovation, FERC

Dr. Arnold Quinn is Director of the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation in the Division of Economic and Technical Analysis of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washington DC. As such, Dr. Quinn develops project plans that focus on the Chairman's priorities to incorporate demand-side resources, enhance market rules to integrate renewable resources and other alternative energy resources, and to enhance operational efficiency. Dr. Quinn has been at FERC since 2003. He was most recently Director, Division of Energy Market Oversight, in the Office of Enforcement at FERC, directing staff on monitoring electricity and natural gas markets; and before that, Chief of the Audits Branch 2, FERC, Office of Enforcement, Division of Audits. From 2000-2003, Dr. Quinn was an associate at The Brattle Group in Washington DC. He holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Kenneth J. Lutz, Office of Senator Ron Wyden

Dr. Kenneth Geiss is on the legislative staff of U. S. Senator Ron Wyden helping to develop energy policies and write legislation for the purpose of reducing the country’s use of fossil fuels, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and increasing energy efficiency.  Until 2009, he was a Principal Consultant and Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Telcordia Technologies, formerly Bell Communications Research, the research and development arm of the Baby Bells.  He did research and development of techniques for delivering new types of telecommunications and information services, using the results of his work to help companies around the world to find new solutions in the increasingly competitive telecommunications environment.  He helped clients evaluate technology alternatives and manage risks and costs, using decision methodologies he developed.  He frequently had to explain the impacts of technology to corporate officers and other senior managers.  Ken also served as consultant to the Department of Defense on Defense Information Systems Network, the Department of Agriculture on rural broadband networks, and the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection.  Ken’s interests are broad, ranging from the use of technology to help meet societal and economic needs to science education, energy, and the environment.  A long-time chair of his local Environmental Commission in New Jersey, Ken has a strong interest in natural resource protection, global warming, and sustainability.  Ken holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University.  Prior to the breakup of AT&T, he did research and development at Bell Telephone Laboratories