Agenda Day 1

8:45 am

Broadcast Begins

9:00 am

Introduction & Overview

Erik E. Malinowski, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Fredrikson & Byron / Minneapolis, MN

Sarah Johnson Phillips, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Stoel Rives / Minneapolis, MN

9:15 am

Anticipating Federal Policy Changes after the Election

Prospects for renewables under different administrations

Jonathan P. Trotta, Esq.
Stinson LLP / Washington, DC

Brian M. Meloy, Esq.
Stinson LLP / Minneapolis, MN

10:00 am

Implications of the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic for the Transition to Renewable Energy in the Midwest

The role of renewable energy in state economic recovery efforts and how midwestern states are promoting renewable resource development

Gregory F. Jenner, Esq.
Stoel Rives / Minneapolis, MN

10:30 am

Break

10:45 am

Regional Coordination of Markets and Grid Operations to Accomodate the Transition to Greater Reliance on Renewables

MISO's planning for transmission, generation, and storage

Christopher D. Supino, Esq. , Senior General Counsel
MISO / Carmel, IN

Assessment of the Covid-19 pandemic effect on regional electricity generation

Derya Eryilmaz, Ph.D. , Associate Principal
Charles River Associates / Boston, MA

12:00 pm

Lunch (on your own)

1:15 pm

The Expanding Role of Energy Storage as a Key Element for Reaching the Region's Carbon Reduction Goals

Impact trends for batteries and short-term time shifts to stabilize hour-to-hour energy market pricing

Allen P. Gleckner, Esq. , Senior Director, Energy Markets
Fresh Energy / Saint Paul, MN

1:45 pm

Decarbonization of Transportation

The future for electric vehicles, including mass transit and long haul trucking

Steven Sokolsky , Program Manager & Regional Director
CALSTART / Madison, WI

Power sector implications of transportation electrification

Michael Hagerty, Esq. , Senior Associate
The Brattle Group / Washington, DC

3:15 pm

Break

3:30 pm

Special Address: How Market Changes Affect Xcel Energy's Transition to 100 Percent Renewables

Impacts on long term resource planning, short term procurement, and project implementation

Christopher B. Clark, Esq. , President - Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota
Xcel Energy / Minneapolis, MN

4:15 pm

The Details of Xcel's Implementation Plans

Progress report on Xcel's multiyear Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) process

Philip J. (P.J.) Martin , Director, Resource Planning
Xcel Energy / Minneapolis, MN

5:00 pm

Continue the Exchange of Ideas: Virtual Reception for Faculty and Attendees

Grab your favorite beverage and snack for a moment of comradery and a less structured discussion of what is happening as the Midwest transitions to cleaner energy

Friday, October 02, 2020

9:00 am

Carbon-Free Renewables and the Interplay with Utility Resource Planning

Renewable project developer perspective on the market for utility scale projects, interconnection issues, contract sticking points, and strategies for addressing the large number of applicants in the queue

Betsy Engelking , Vice President of Policy and Strategy
Geronimo Energy / Bloomington, MN

10:15 am

Break

10:30 am

Siting, Permitting, and Transmission Constraints and Considerations

Regulatory perspective on current issues for solar, wind, and storage projects

John Wachtler , Energy Program Director
Minnesota Department of Commerce / St. Paul, MN

11:15 am

Carbon Sequestration as a Potential Interim CO2 Emissions Reduction Solution

Technical and economic viability trends; regulatory and cost recovery issues to resolve

Kurt R. Rempe, Esq.
Fredrikson & Byron / Minneapolis, MN

Michael R. Cummings, Esq.
Fredrikson & Byron / Minneapolis, MN

12:00 pm

Special Wrap Up State Policy Address: Energy Development and Regulatory Priorities as the States in the Region Rebuild Their Economies

Resource development; ratemaking and other regulatory issues

The Hon. Joseph Sullivan , Commissioner
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission / Saint Paul, MN

12:30 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Sarah Johnson Phillips, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Stoel Rives in the Energy Development practice group. She focuses on energy project development, buying, selling and financing energy projects, and energy regulatory matters. She advises large wind and solar project developers on permitting and real estate matters, including obtaining major project permits, negotiating leases and easements, and title work. She also has particular experience working on distributed solar and community- shared solar projects.

Erik E. Malinowski, Program Co-Chair, is a shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron and a member of the Renewable Energy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate and Securities groups. He assists clients with the development and financing of renewable energy projects. He also helps his clients obtain and negotiate power purchase agreements, hedging or swap arrangements, project investment and finance documents and project sale and acquisition agreements.

The Hon. Joseph Sullivan, Special Wrap Up Address, is a Commissioner at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. He previously served as Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Energy Resources at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. In this role, he led the Division and supervised the Minnesota State Energy Office and the Energy Planning and Advocacy unit. He has also worked as the Regional Policy Manager for Wind on the Wires, where he worked in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa to advance policies for wind power and transmission access.

Christopher B. Clark is the President for the Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota utility operations at Xcel Energy. Previously, he was Regional Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Affairs - Minnesota. In that capacity, he was responsible for Xcel Energy's regulatory filings with the utility commissions in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, including rate, resource acquisition, and service quality filings.

Michael R. Cummings, Fredrikson & Byron, assists clients in the energy and natural resources industry on permitting and environmental matters. Prior to joining Fredrikson & Byron, he worked at an environmental consulting firm focusing on environmental review, environmental permitting, and agency consultations for the development, construction and operation of energy projects.

Betsy Engelking is Vice President of Policy and Strategy at Geronimo Energy. Previously, she was Director of Resource Planning for Xcel Energy, where she developed and implemented long-range power supply plans, including compliance with Xcel's wide-ranging renewable energy requirements. She has also held positions with Great River Energy and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

Derya Eryilmaz, Ph.D., is an energy economist and an Associate Principal in the Energy Practice of Charles River Associates. She is an expert in the applied economic analysis of the energy sector surrounding price forecasting, market power, market manipulation and price discrimination issues and energy forecasting.

Allen P. Gleckner is Senior Director, Energy Markets for Fresh Energy. He oversees Fresh Energy's work related to decarbonizing our electricity system with wind and solar, and powering more of our economy with carbon-free electricity. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was a Staff Attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

Michael Hagerty is a senior associate at The Brattle Group with experience in electricity wholesale market design, renewable and climate policy analysis, transmission planning and development, and strategic planning for utility companies.

Gregory F. Jenner is a partner at Stoel Rives and the head of the firm's Washington, DC office and a past co-chair of the firm's energy team. He advises clients on a wide range of tax transactions and issues. He is a former Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Tax Policy.

Philip J. (P.J.) Martin is the Director of Resource Planning for Xcel Energy. He formerly served as the company's Director of Strategic Asset Planning.

Brian M. Meloy is partner at Stinson LLP. He has spent his entire career representing businesses located throughout the U.S. in energy transactions and regulatory matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state utility commissions on issues ranging from power purchase negotiations to cost of service ratemaking to wholesale electric market design.

Kurt R. Rempe, Fredrikson & Byron, advises clients on tax, regulatory and commercial issues related to the development, financing, purchase and sale of energy projects. He has worked with investor-owned utilities, municipalities and independent power producers.

Steven Sokolsky is the High-Efficiency Truck Users Forum (HTUF) Program Manager at CALSTART. He administers CALSTART's contract with the U.S. Army for the program and also leads its Military Truck Action Group. He also is an advisor to the California Clean Airport Fleets Partnership.

Christopher D. Supino is Senior General Counsel at MISO, which manages one of the world's largest energy markets. He is primarily responsible for supporting MISO Transmission Planning, Resource Utilization/Generator Interconnection, and Competitive Transmission groups.

Jonathan P. Trotta is a partner at Stinson LLP. In his prior role as Attorney-Advisor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), he advised senior FERC staff and the Commission on a range of issues affecting wholesale electric markets, including transmission and generator interconnection, development of RTO/ISO market rules, transmission planning, and energy storage.

John Wachtler is the Energy Program Director for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Previously, he was the Vice President of Barr Engineering, which provides engineering and environmental consulting services to clients across the Midwest.

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: This program qualifies for 9.25 MN MCLE and 9.25 ABCEP environmental professional credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

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