Oct 22-23, 2024 | David Brower Center | Berkeley, CA
The 15th Annual MDF is an invite-only gathering of the energy storage ecosystem, including regulators, utilities, and CESA members, focused on how energy storage will support California’s decarbonization and grid reliability goals. Join 150+ energy storage industry leaders for premier inperson business networking opportunities and an insightful, educational program on safety permitting, long-duration energy storage, integrated resource planning, resource adequacy, interconnection, and more.
Agenda
Day 1 - Tuesday, October 22, 2024
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Member Registration Opens
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Annual CESA Member Meeting (CESA Members Only)
In this member-only session, CESA will introduce any new staff to members and discuss its strategic priorities for 2025.
Nathan Barcic is a Program and Project Supervisor working on CPUC’s Integrated Resource Planning process. He has worked on IRP since nearly its inception in 2016. His team’s focus is on planning, modeling, and need determination, which brings him close to many different energy storage issues – ranging from how to characterize those resources in modeling to how to consider them in procurement. Prior to his time on IRP, Nathan worked on RPS procurement and Demand Response at the CPUC. In his free time, he (still) coaches a local 2nd grade girls soccer team.
Rachel Bird, Rachel Bird Strategies
Rachel Bird Strategies Inc. is an independent consulting firm specializing in clean energy policy advocacy, political strategy, and market development, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm has experience running multi-state issue advocacy campaigns and supporting corporate clean energy clients in achieving their regulatory objectives.
Prior to launching her consulting practice in 2020, founder Rachel Bird served as Director of Policy and Business Development, West for Borrego Solar, during which time she served on the board of the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA). Prior to joining Borrego Solar, Rachel co-founded and ran Leadership for a Clean Economy, a nonprofit political organization that recruited, supported, and elected climate leaders to state and local office in California. Rachel previously worked on a number of electoral campaigns, most recently serving as the Political Director for a 2012 congressional campaign that defeated the incumbent by four percent. Rachel holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University.
Allan Calder, Solano County Planning Manager – Planning Services Division
Landscape Architect - Land Planner specialist possessing top management level experience with over 30 years of experience working on local, state, federal and international land development projects. Considerable knowledge of principles of personnel management, including supervision, training and performance evaluation.
Sergio
Dueñas, CAISO
Sergio is an energy policy specialist. He has robust research skills and a passion for sustainable problemsolving. Sergio has significant expertise in regulatory affairs, particularly regarding the energy sector across the western United States. Ultimately, he seeks to further decarbonization of the electrical grid by employing his expertise in data analysis, econometric modeling, fieldwork, stakeholder management, and energy policy.
Mariko Geronimo, Lumen Energy Strategy
Mariko Geronimo Aydin has 15 years of experience in analyzing the policies and economics of electricity system planning, regulation and de-regulation of electricity supply, and wholesale electricity markets across the U.S. Her more recent work has focused on finding sustainable and creative ways to adapt traditional planning processes and analytical tools to an industry rapidly shifting towards cleaner and more scalable supply technologies. Today’s electricity industry still has untapped potential to meet goals of clean energy, cost-effectiveness, and operational and planning flexibility through greater electricity customer engagement, cutting-edge data analysis, and new technologies. To reach this potential with a robust and modern grid, Mariko also works with clients to explore options for evolving utility business models, customer choice, and wholesale market refinements that can make the best use of distributed and customer-driven power supply resources, in synergy with more traditional resources.
Mike Gravely, Research Program Manager, CEC
Mike Gravely is the Energy Storage Team Lead and Senior Electrical Engineer for the Industry and Carbon Management Branch at the California Energy Commission. His team is managing over $400 million in long duration energy storage and related energy research and demonstration projects. In this role, he oversees the full spectrum of research activities to improve the California Electric Grid including assessing future energy storage needs for California and addressing the grid related issues associated with integrating higher concentrations of renewables. In 2020, the Energy Commission awarded over $100 million in state funds and vendor costshare investments to over 25 new grants to complete research and demonstration projects with new and emerging energy storage technologies. One key area of this research is focused on understanding the capability and value of long duration energy storage solutions (from 10 hours to 100+ hours) to assist California in transitioning to the goal of 100 percent zero-carbon resources by December 31, 2045. In 2022,
his team received $273M in funding in State Budget for the fielding of non-lithium-ion long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies. This funding represents the most significant investment to date by California in field demonstrations for the commercialization advancement of emerging non-lithium-ion LDES in the Nation. Currently, the CEC is investing in five different non-Lithium-Ion technologies in field demonstrations with durations from 8 hours to 100 hours and system sizes from 8 MWHs and to 500 MWHs. The first LDES project will be operational in November 2024. The remaining projects will be operation in 2025 and 2026.
Mike Gravely has a BSEE from the Virginia Military Institute and an MSEE from California State University at Sacramento. Prior to the Energy Commission, Mike served in executive positions in the Federal Government and private industry including addressing the business challenges of a startup energy storage company. Mike also serves as the Military Advisor and Energy Storage Technology Advisor to Chair Hochschild of the California Energy Commission. In 2024, Mike Gravely was awarded the California Energy Commission Service, Excellence, and Accountability Lifetime Achievement Award for is over twenty years of service to the California Energy Commission and the State of California.
Preliminary Program
Kate Griffith, Gridworks
Kate Griffith is a collaborative energy policy strategist, communicator, and facilitator. She has spent more than a decade working at the intersections of sustainable community and policy development, most recently as an energy policy advisor to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. At the Washington commission, Kate focused on climate and wildfire resiliency, utility resource planning, rate-setting, and the implementation of new Washington’s clean energy laws, which center equity in the clean energy transition. Currently as a director for Gridworks in the Pacific Northwest, Kate focuses on facilitating states towards collaborative Western transmission policy, among other topics.
CB Hall, Principal Power Procurement Manager, MCE
CB works for MCE, a community choice aggregator that serves customers across four California counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano. CB’s work on MCE’s power resources team includes evaluating offers for renewables and/ or storage, procuring mid-term reliability capacity, procuring intertie resource adequacy and pacific northwest hydroelectric energy, and managing MCE’s solar + storage contracts that have achieved commercial operation. CB has also worked for the California ISO, PG&E, Sonoma Clean Power, and Morgan Stanley. In addition, CB spent nine months living and working on a cashew farm in rural South Africa, and he spent 14 years growing up in Singapore, London, Tokyo, and Mumbai. He has a BA in economics from Brown University and an MBA from Dartmouth College.
Rahul Kalaskar, AES
Rahul Kalaskar is a seasoned energy industry professional with over 15 years of experience, currently serving as Sr. Director of Regulatory Policy at AES Corporation’s Clean Energy Business. He has a strong background in decarbonization strategy, clean energy technologies, and power system operations, having previously held key positions at the California Independent System Operator. Rahul’s expertise spans market design, policy development, and integrating renewable energy and storage technologies into grid operations. He has advocated for clean energy interests at FERC, ISO/RTO, and public utilities across multiple states, focusing on solar, storage, wind, green hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies. Rahul holds a Master’s in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering. His work involves advocating for clean energy platforms at regulatory agencies in California and the rest of the WECC and representing AES in Western regionalization efforts and Pathways initiatives.
Nika Kjensli – Program Manager, Electric Safety and Reliability Branch, Safety and Enforcement Division
Nika Kjensli serves as the Program Manager for the Electric Safety and Reliability Branch of the Public Utilities Commission’s Safety and Enforcement Division. She has served in this capacity for nearly five years. Nika holds a Masters of Arts in International Relations from the University of Chicago where she studied geopolitical conflicts as they relate to natural resource allocation. She joined the Commission in 2008 as an analyst with the Public Advocates Office, working on renewable energy issues. In her time at the Commission she has worked on a variety of energy-related topics including the Renewables Portfolio Standards targets, distributed generation resource programs, long-term procurement planning, natural gas procurement and rate cases and most recently electric reliability and safety.
Matt Klink, California Strategies
Matt Klink specializes in running strategic/crisis communications, issues management, public affairs programs, and political campaigns. He has more than three decades of experience working on complex, controversial issues for public and private sector clients, as well as ballot measure and independent expenditure campaigns.
Matt is an adept communicator skilled at crafting and implementing strategic campaigns, risk management, and crisis communication programs. He has substantial experience integrating grassroots outreach and alliance development efforts to support lobbying activities. An award-winning writer, Klink has developed effective messaging and captivating copy, including targeted direct mail, speeches, brochures, op-eds.
Skilled at working with the press, Matt has been a spokesperson and primary media contact for numerous corporate and trade association clients and statewide initiative campaigns. He regularly appears on international, national, and local TV news broadcasts for his clients and offers political analysis and commentary. He is quoted regularly on politics in national news publications.
Klink holds an MA in political management from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management and a BA in history from the University of California at Berkeley. He is the immediate past president of the International Association of Political Consultants and serves on the Board of Governors for the Graduate School of Political Management. He speaks around the world about the importance of preserving democracy.
Peter Levitt, Programs Manager, Distributed Energy ResourcesPeninsula Clean Energy
I believe rapid, mass decarbonization isn’t just possible, but will pay off dividends for humanity. I currently support Peninsula Clean Energy in developing longterm strategies to deploy Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and have lead their first DER, load shaping, and Building Electrification programs.
Prior to supporting Peninsula Clean Energy, I worked for SolarCity and Tesla, which showed me what it is like working at mission-driven organizations. My pathway there had me work on the largest C&I and small utilityscale solar+storage portfolio in the country at the time, working with countless internal and external stakeholders to deploy massive amounts of solar and storage.
Beyond my day job, I’m a leader at several nonprofit organizations: NatureBridge, Seed Consulting Group, and Philadelphia City Repair Project.
Suzanne Leta, Fluence Energy
More than 20 years ago, my first job out of college was campaigning doorto-door for a green future. Over the course of my career in renewable energy, I have led initiatives in federal, state, local, and international public policy advocacy, public relations, business strategy and project development. I also have more than 15 years of experience serving on the board or as an advisor to trade associations and non-profit organizations.
Preliminary Program
Cara Martinson, President and Founder of Public House Consulting
Cara is a seasoned government affairs professional with two decades of lobbying and consulting experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors of government. Prior to founding Public House Consulting in 2022, Cara served as the Senior Director of Regulatory and Political Affairs for a Fortune 200 national renewable energy company where she managed the legislative and regulatory portfolio for ten western states. Cara also spent 13 years leading local government interests at the California State Capitol, representing counties at the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) on a myriad of local government issues.
In addition to her experience in the halls of the state Capitol, Cara spent the better part of a decade as a practitioner at the local level, serving as an appointed Sacramento County planning commissioner reviewing and approving development proposals and helping to shape land use decisions in the county.
Cara holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in politics from Brandeis University.
Frank McElvain, CPUC
Frank McElvain is a 45-year veteran of transmission and distribution planning and operations engineering and management with electric utilities, consulting firms, state regulation, and reliability coordination. Although his influence has ranged geographically from Manitoba to New York to Florida, his focus is the west. He is a professional engineer in California and Colorado.
Nathan Miller, Director at Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc., E3
Nathan Miller joined E3’s Asset Valuation team in 2019. With a background in energy economics and finance, he is experienced in financial modeling, energy market analysis, investor due diligence, procurement and contracting, and project financing.
Prior to joining E3, Nate spent six years in Washington, DC as an advisor to investors, developers, utilities, and policymakers on power project planning, development and financing. He has advised on over 10 GW of generation assets in 16 countries and the U.S. covering a range of technologies, including oil and gas, geothermal, solar, wind, biomass, and energy storage.
At E3, Nate works with planners, developers, and investors to evaluate existing and new energy assets under current and future market scenarios to drive investments which deliver long term value while building a decarbonized energy future that sustains communities and the environment.
An East Bay native, he enjoys the outdoors, blues music, and a good board game in between spark spreads and cost curves.
Education: MA, energy and international finance with honors, Johns Hopkins University; BA, international relations and economics with honors, Pomona Collegefurther decarbonization of the electrical grid by employing his expertise in data analysis, econometric modeling, fieldwork, stakeholder management, and energy policy.
Luke Nickerman, PG&E
Luke Nickerman is a Manager of Market and Procurement Policy at PG&E. Luke covers supply-side issues like Resource Adequacy, Integrated Resource Planning, Renewable Portfolio Standard, Power Source Disclosure, and Power Charge Indifference Adjustment. Luke’s expertise in the Resource Adequacy space is particularly deep.
Luke has worked at PG&E since 2010 and has worked in Customer Programs, Grid Integration and Innovation, and Energy Policy and Procurement. In addition to the areas listed above he has worked on a variety of distributed energy resource (DER) issues: costeffectiveness and avoided costs, forecasting, potential studies, program performance benchmarking, and distribution and transmission investment deferrals using DERs.
Prior to PG&E, Luke worked at the US Department of Energy (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the International Energy Agency, covering issues like energy efficiency and renewable energy, combined heat and power, science and technology policy, user facilities, and the 2009 Recovery Act. Luke also spent three years as a teacher in Micronesia. He has a master’s from UC San Diego and a BA from Willamette University.
Nick Schlag, E3
Nick Schlag provides technical leadership on projects involving resource planning and procurement for utilities and public agencies throughout western North America. He has managed some of E3’s highest-profile projects, including a study of gas-electric coordination in the Western Interconnection commissioned by the Western Interstate Energy Board as well as the Western Interconnection Flexibility Assessment, a collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Lab to investigate how high penetrations of renewables in the Western Interconnection would impact system operations. Nick developed and maintains E3’s RPS Calculator, which the California Public Utilities Commission and other entities use to create and analyze renewables portfolios to meet the requirements of the state’s
Renewables Portfolio Standard. He is currently leading E3’s work with the CPUC to implement an integrated resource planning framework in California.
Nick is excited to contribute to an intelligent transition to a cleaner, more sustainable grid. He enjoys exploring the challenges of planning and operating a grid with high renewable penetrations, mapping potential solutions, and developing new techniques for understanding an electric system that looks radically different from today’s. While his work is impressive, we are all even more impressed by his career with the San Francisco Bay Area Ultimate Frisbee team Revolver, three-time world champion.
Education: MS, civil and environmental engineering, atmosphere and energy, and BA, earth systems, Stanford University
Dr. Joachim Seel , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Dr. Joachim Seel is a Policy Researcher at the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research focuses on solar, storage and wind market developments, transmission and interconnection challenges, the integration of high shares of intermittent renewable generation into the electricity grid, and associated effects on electricity markets. He has published 18 refereed papers, 50 national lab research reports and gave over 120 presentations at industry, academic, and regulatory conferences.
His past work experience includes stations at the European Parliament, the American Wind Energy Association, the Commission for Renewable Energy Development at the Chinese Energy Ministry and the German Ministry for Energy and the Economy. He has consulted private and public sector clients on energy economics, renewable energy technologies and energy policy.
Joachim Seel holds a PhD and MS of Energy and Resources and a Master in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. A native of Hamburg, he came to the San Francisco Bay Area from the Jacobs University in Germany, where he studied environmental policies and international relations.
Preliminary Program
Akarsh Sheilendranath, Brattle
Mr. Sheilendranath is an energy economist with expertise in wholesale electricity markets, electric transmission, resource planning, and regulatory corporate finance.
He specializes in economic evaluations in wholesale electricity markets, transmission planning & policy, resource planning, utility investment strategy, largescale renewables and energy storage valuation, costbenefit assessments, market rules and tariffs, and the evaluation of cost of capital for regulated entities. He has advised a range of clients on these matters, including utilities, independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs), and utility commissions.
Mr. Sheilendranath has provided pre-filed and oral testimony in matters related to large-scale renewables investment, utility resource planning, transmission grid congestion risks, transmission market rule changes in ISO/RTO markets, and in several Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) matters related to the cost of capital.
Mr. Sheilendranath previously was the Director of American Electric Power’s Resource Planning & Strategy group. His prior experience also includes engineering roles at Eversource Energy and ISO England.
MJ Shiao, American Clean Power
Focused on clean energy transformation with experience ranging from solar PV cell manufacturing through leading global analyst teams covering clean energy markets. Passionate, well-rounded and creative leader driving clean energy strategy, policy and business development.
Julia Souder, CEO, Long Duration Energy Storage Council Ambassador
Julia Souder is a strategic executive with over 20 years of expertise in the energy and environmental sectors as a coalition builder, change maker, and motivator for inclusive implementation. She is a long-time advocate of clean energy technologies and equitable transitions. Souder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LDES Council, a global non-profit working to accelerate decarbonization through the acceleration of long-duration energy storage (LDES). As CEO, she leads strategy and vision to enable the advancement and scale of LDES deployment in the energy transition worldwide. In addition, she serves as the Chair of the Global Renewables Alliance, of which the LDES Council is a founding member, and sits on the Board of the Keystone Policy Center.
Previously, Souder was the President and Founder of JAS Energies, a clean energy and grid planning consultancy. She was also a director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she oversaw energy policy creation and implementation with a focus on grid operations and transmission planning. She has also worked in multiple roles at the U.S. Department of Energy and served as Director of Intergovernmental Relations for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and as a Project Developer for Clean Line Energy Partners.
Souder earned a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s in Political Science and International Relations from Oregon State University.
Renae Steichen, Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, REV Renewables
Renae is the Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs for REV Renewables, leading California storage policy and ISO/RTO markets policy activities. She has 15 years of experience in the clean energy industry with public and private organizations in California and across the country.
Leuwam Tesfai, Deputy Director of Energy and Climate Policy, CPUC
Leuwam Tesfai was named the CPUC’s Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy, effective July 1, 2022. She previously served as Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma’s Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor, a position she held since 2019 when appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. She has worked at the CPUC since 2011 in several roles including as an Advisor to former Commissioner Liane M. Randolph and in the CPUC’s Legal, Energy and Administrative Law Judge Divisions. Leuwam’s private sector experience includes renewable energy markets, siting and permitting generation facilities, and commercialization of clean energy technologies. She is a graduate of Emory University and the University of San Francisco School of Law.
The Energy Division provides technical support to the Commissioners and their offices, and the Administrative Law Judges. The Energy Division drafts resolutions for formal consideration by the Commission. Resolutions generally result from informal utility requests called Advice Letters, which are submitted by utilities to request rate and tariff adjustments.
The Energy Division through its Federal Policy and Ratemaking Section represents the Commission in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and court proceedings.
The Energy Division assists the Commission in its regulation of four types of Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs): Electric, Natural Gas, Steam and Petroleum Pipeline Companies. Commission-approved tariffs (official rates and terms of service) for these four types of IOUs are maintained by the Energy Division.
Mark Thompson, Senior Director, State Affairs
Mark Thompson is the Senior Director, State Affairs at Form Energy. At Form Energy, Mark engages with state policy-makers and regulators to help move forward beneficial markets to unlock the value of multi-day energy storage for customers. Prior to joining Form, Mark was a Commissioner at the Oregon Public Utility Commission between 2019 and 2023. During his tenure, Mark helped the Oregon PUC reach milestone decisions on early implementation questions around Oregon’s energy decarbonization laws, the state’s involvement in resource adequacy, and reworking the rules and customer protections for lowincome customers. Previous to that Mark was a legal practitioner on energy regulatory matters. Mark has experience working in the industry for over 20 years, including as the Director of Rates and Regulatory Affairs at NW Natural, and as Staff Counsel for the Public Power Council, focusing on federal energy supply matters. Mark holds a degree in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University, and a Law Degree from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Michael Volpe, PG&E
Michael is an expert analyst at Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). He has over five years of experience working with the CAISO on energy storage policy as well as significant day-ahead and real-time market operations experience. Prior to working on energy storage issues, Michael was a commodity transactor in PG&E’s portfolio management team and a system planning analyst in gas operations. Michael holds a master’s degree in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
