COMPETE Coalition Hosts Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicle and Grid Modernization Conference

The COMPETE Coalition will sponsor a day-long conference October 5th to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing national electric vehicle deployment, grid modernization and how they tie into America’s Smart Grid future.
 
The free conference – Electric Vehicle Technology and Grid Modernization: How PHEVs and Smart Grid Come Together – takes place at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., and is co-sponsored by the Center for Business and Regulation, College of Business and Management, University of Illinois-Springfield.
 
The expected influx of electric vehicles onto the nation’s grid raises questions about how to best integrate this transformative technology that offers great potential for electricity storage. Competitive organized markets will not only help meet the new demand for electricity created by electric vehicles, but can turn them into an asset to the grid via energy storage and ancillary services.
 
A demonstration plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from the University of Delaware’s Vehicle-to-Grid Research Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration will be on display for all conference attendees. The vehicle is part of a plug-in vehicle energy storage pilot program currently in operation with PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest electricity grid operator.
 
Federico Peña, COMPETE’s Co-Chair and a former secretary of both the energy and transportation departments during the Clinton administration, will provide the conference’s opening remarks and introduce keynote speaker Philip Moeller of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
 
Two panel discussions will then delve into the issues surrounding electric vehicles and smart grid integration. The first panel, “Electric Vehicles: Obstacles and Opportunities,” will be moderated by William Massey, former FERC Commissioner and counsel to COMPETE. It will feature Genevieve Cullen, Vice President, Electric Drive Transportation Association; Scott Baker, Policy Analyst, Vehicle-to-Grid Research, Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration, University of Delaware; Deron Lovaas, Federal Transportation Policy Director, Natural Resources Defense Council; and Vincent Lyons, Vice President of Engineering & Product Development, Leggett & Platt.
 
The second panel, “Market Support for Electric Vehicles,” will be moderated by Commissioner Robert Powelson of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and will feature Stu Bresler, Vice President, Market Operations, PJM Interconnection; John O’Brien, Senior Vice President, NRG Energy; Chris Thomas, Policy Director, Illinois Citizens Utility Board; and Allen Friefeld, Senior Vice President, Viridity Energy.
 
Former U.S. Senator Don Nickles, COMPETE Coalition Co-Chair, will provide closing remarks.
 
For more information or to RSVP, call (202) 745-6331 or e-mail at malina@competecoalition.com.