• The Conference

Agenda



View Agenda by Day

Monday, April 11

7:30 am - 1:30 pm Microgrid & Battery Manufacturing Plant Tour
(Alevo Battery and Gridbank Manufacturing Plant & Duke Energy’s Microgrid Test Site) - Learn More
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Grand Opening & Welcome Reception
Hall AB
Co-located with the International Biomass Conference & Expo's exhibit hall
Top of the page

Tuesday, April 12

7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
Ballroom Foyer
8:30 am - 11:00 am General Session
Ballroom
Welcome & Awards

Exploring the Position and Trajectory of On-Site Energy
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Tom Bryan, Editor in Chief, On-Site Energy Management
  • Marc Rouse, Director of Sales, U.S. and Canada, Capstone Turbine Corporation
  • Mark Fennell, Business Development Manager, UGI Performance Solutions
  • Rich Hepp, Director, Microgrid Program, Schneider Electric
  • Alain Castro, CEO, Ener-Core

Executive Roundtable: The International Biomass Conference & Expo’s Annual Conversation with Bioenergy Association Leaders

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine
  • Seth Ginther, Executive Director, U.S. Industrial Pellet Association
  • Dan Wilson, Board Chair, Biomass Thermal Energy Council
  • Bob Cleaves, President & CEO, Biomass Power Association
  • Patrick Serfass, Executive Director, American Biogas Council
  • Stephen Faehner, President & CEO, American Wood Fibers
11:00 am - 6:30 pm Expo Open
Hall AB
11:00 am - 1:30 pm Dedicated Expo Time
Hall AB
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Lunch in the Expo
Hall AB
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm CHP/CCHP
Room 202
Understanding How Advanced CHP/CCHP Systems are Planned, Built and Commissioned
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Mike Morris, Senior Business Development Manager – Distributed Energy Generation, Constellation
  • Giles Gomme, Regional Sales Manager, AB Energy USA
    Industrial CHP Case Studies
  • John Langaker, Project Manager, Burns and McDonnell Engineering
    CHP Project Case Study: Thermal Energy Corp
  • Steven Willins, Director, Electric Services, US Energy Services
    CHP Project Design: Don’t Overlook the Details
  • William Steigelmann, Senior Engineering Consultant, Lockheed Martin
    The Dramatic Growth of CHP in Maryland
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Refreshment Break in the Expo
Hall AB
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm FINANCE
Room 202
Outsourcing On-Site Energy: Project Financing Tools that Reduce Customer Cost, Investor Risk and Distributor Hurdles
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Tom Bryan, Editor In Chief, On-Site Energy Management
  • Kenda Brown, President, Capstone Energy Finance
    Making On-site Power Production More Affordable: PPA Financing for Microturbine Installations
  • Kyle Andrucyk, Vice President, Finance, United Wind
    Fixed-Rate, Zero-Maintenance Distributed Wind Turbine Leasing
  • Chris Lohmann, Vice President, Alternative Energy Solutions, Energi Insurance Services Inc.
    De-risking Project Finance for Innovative Technologies
  • Scott Ringlein, President, The Energy Alliance Group of North America
    PACE Financing: A Shift in Funding Renewable Energy Projects
BIOMASS CHP
Room 207
Deploying Combined Heat and Power Biomass Technologies to Deliver Maximum Economic and Environmental Benefit
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine
  • W. David Featherman, Principal, Wildephor Consulting Services LLC
    Quantifying the Life-Cycle Value of Small-Scale Bioenergy Projects Using the Triple Bottom Line (TriBL™) Modeling Approach
  • Jeff Hallowell, President, Biomass Controls LLC
    Small Scale Combined Heat and Power
  • Daniel Wilson, Vice President, Wilson Engineering Services PC
    Innovative Policy and Project Implementation Approaches are Driving Broader U.S. Adoption of Community-Scale Biomass Thermal, CHP, and District Energy Systems
  • Dennis St. George, Sr. Biosystems Engineer, Manitoba Hydro, Canada
    Bioenergy Optimization Program Demonstration Project
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Networking Reception in the Expo
Top of the page

Wednesday, April 13

7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
Hall AB
7:30 am - 1:30 pm Expo Open
Hall AB
8:30 am - 10:00 am MICROGRIDS
Room 202
Microgrid Makers: How New Systems of Intelligence are Producing More Elegant, Flexible and Connected On-Site Energy Solutions
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Tom Bryan, Editor In Chief, On-Site Energy Management
  • Tom Fenimore, Technology Development Manager, Duke Energy
    McAlpine Microgrid: A Distribution System Based Utility Owned Microgrid
  • Rich Hepp, Director, Microgrid Program, Schneider Electric
    Optimizing the Microgrid for Demand Side Operation
  • Steve Schneider, Chief Solutions Architect, Leidos Engineering
    Integrating Technical, Economic and Regulatory Architectures to Yield Optimized Microgrid Solutions
  • Travis Simpkins, Principal, Renewable Energy Analytics
    Optimal Battery Dispatching to Maximize Economic Return in Grid-Connected Microgrids
BIOGAS
Room 208
It’s in the Way that You Use It: Cashing in on Biogas Operations by Producing Energy Products with Real Value
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Joseph Curro, Principal Engineer, CDM Smith
  • Steven Cox, President, GkW Energy Inc.
    Simplifying Biogas-Fueled Power Generation
  • Eric Wilgenbusch, Sales Engineer, Unison Solutions Inc.
    Converting Biogas into Energy and Vehicle Fuel
  • Jin-Yun Wang, Manager, Fuel Processing & Catalysts, FuelCell Energy Inc.
    Biogas and Biomass to Electricity at High Efficiency with Direct FuelCell
10:00 am - 10:30 am Refreshment Break in the Expo
Hall AB
10:30 am - Noon WASTEWATER
Room 208
Exploring the Increasing Role Anaerobic Digestion is Playing in Global Wastewater Treatment Assets
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine
  • Mel Kurtz, President, Quasar Energy Group
    There is a Solution to Algal Blooms: How Agriculture and Wastewater Can Solve the Problem Together
  • Gus Simmons, Director of Bioenergy, Cavanaugh & Associates, P.A.
    Money to Burn? How to Capitalize on BioCNG at Your Wastewater Plant
  • Ed Weinberg, President, ESSRE Consulting Inc.
    Beneficial Use of Nutrients for Increased Valorization of Anaerobic Digesters and Digestate
ENERGY STORAGE
Room 202
Beyond Backup: Understanding the Multifarious Role of Energy Storage in Microgrid Applications
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Peter Ledford, Regulatory Council, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association
  • Bill Sproull, Vice President, Business Development & Sales, Energy Storage Systems
    Long Duration Energy Storage: All-Iron Flow Battery in a Vineyard Microgrid
  • Chris Larsen, Senior Sales Engineer, Dynapower Company LLC
    Case Studies in Solar + Storage Microgrids
  • Ben Edgar, Business Development Manager, Microgrids/Distributed Generation, Black & Veatch
    Choosing Your Battery’s Role in a Microgrid
Noon - 1:30 pm Lunch in the Expo
1:30 pm - 2:00pm ECONOMIC GENERATION
Room 202
Strategies for Enhancing Revenues through Smart, Responsive Generation
(Read Panel Description)
  • Pat Frazier, Vice President, Electricity Markets, US Energy Services
    Revenue Optimization through Economic Dispatch in RTOs
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm INDUSTRIAL
Room 202
Leveraging On-Site Power Generation in a World with Increasing Emissions Standards
(Read Panel Description)

Moderator: Tom Bryan, Editor In Chief, On-Site Energy Management
  • Brent Voelker, Director, Sales, Kinsley Energy Systems
    Converting Low-Quality Fuels to Heat, Power and Profit with Fuel-Flexible Turbines
  • Alain Castro, CEO, Ener-Core Inc.
    Use of Scaled-Up Power Oxidizer-Coupled Turbines for Industrial Waste Gas CHP
  • Chris Ruppel, Partner, Grid Energy Services
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Refreshment Break
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm GASIFICATION
Room 207
Tracing the Efforts to Drive Biomass Gasification towards Economic Feasibility and Greater Marketplace Deployment
Read Panel Description

Moderator: Anna Simet, Managing Editor, Biomass Magazine
  • Chris Koczaja, VP Engineering & Implementation, PHG Energy
    Waste Disposal through Gasification
  • Abolhasan Hashemisohi, Ph.D. Candidate, North Carolina A&T State University
    Hybrid Lagrangian-Eulerian Simulation of Hydrodynamic of Fluidized Bed Gasifier
FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES
Room 208
Demonstrating the Potential for Biogas Feedstocks to Produce Renewable Hydrogen for Fuel Cell Vehicles
Read Panel Description

Moderators: Pete Devlin, Market Transformation Manager, Fuel Cell Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Greg Moreland, FCTO Contract Support, CSRA Inc.
  • Pete Devlin, Market Transformation Manager, Fuel Cell Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
    DOE Overview of Transportation Fuel Cell Technologies and Renewable Hydrogen from Biogas
  • David Edwards, Sr. International Expert & Director of Technology Partnerships, Air Liquide
    Renewable Hydrogen from Biogas: The Perspective from a Major Industrial Gas Producer
  • Pere Margalef, Director Advanced Technology Business Development, Fuel Cell Energy
    Tri-Generation of Wastewater Biogas into Renewable Hydrogen, Power and Thermal Energy Using Carbonate Fuel Cell Technology
  • Tony Lindsay, Director of Research & Development Advanced Energy Systems, Gas Technology Institute
    Demonstrating the Potential of Landfill Biogas and Wastewater Biogas as Feedstocks for Renewable Hydrogen
5:00 pm Sessions Conclude
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Wednesday Evening Event
NASCAR Hall of Fame - Learn More
Top of the page

Thursday, April 14

8:30 am – 2:00 pm Industry Tour
Examining Charlotte’s Growing Biogas Industry
(Blue Sphere Waste-to-Energy Facility & McAlpine Creek Wastewater Management Facility)
Learn More
Top of the page

Platinum Level Sponsors

Gold Level Sponsors

Supporting Organizations

Media Partner

Organized By