power & renewables summit 2018

Cheryl Mele became ERCOT’s senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO) in January 2016. She oversees Grid Operations and Planning, Commercial Operations, and Governance, Risk and Compliance.

Prior to joining ERCOT, Ms. Mele served as deputy general manager and COO for Austin Energy, where she led its power operations, compliance and planning activities.

Ms. Mele brings 30 years of experience in the power industry to ERCOT. Her management and executive roles included both power generation and energy delivery before becoming COO at Austin Energy. Ms. Mele worked for General Electric as both an engineer and system programmer before joining Austin Energy in 1991.

A registered professional engineer in Texas, Ms. Mele has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and completed The Utility Executive Course at the University of Idaho.

While at Austin Energy, Ms. Mele served on the boards of the South Texas Nuclear Operating Company, the Texas Public Power Association and the RMEL, an electric industry education and networking trade group. She continues to serve as a board member and chair of the Austin Science Education Foundation, where she has been committed to preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Louis Ting is the Director of Power Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He is responsible for the overall Power System regulatory, resource, grid, and strategic planning. Since joined LADWP in 1992 after graduating from UCLA, he had the privilege of career diversifications and increasing responsibilities from Fleet Engineering designing utility-specific vehicles, Water System pipeline design and construction, including trunk line redevelopment projects. He then moved to the electric side of LADWP to manage major projects including renewables generation, hydroelectric, combined-cycle power plants, transmission line, and substation projects.

Eran Mahrer serves as Vice President of Market, Utility and Government Origination. He joined First Solar in 2014 and leads the company's engagement with utilities on solar planning and programming. In this role, Mr. Mahrer establishes and maintains relationships with utilities, engages in strategic planning, integrated resource planning and program design initiatives.

Prior to joining First Solar, Mr. Mahrer served as the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Programs for the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). He joined SEPA in 2012 and led the organization's efforts in driving utility and solar industry strategies and practices in support of solar energy. His experience also includes serving as Arizona Public Service Company's (APS) Director of Renewable Energy and Resource Portfolio Planning. In his 11 years with APS, he led the company's renewable energy strategy, renewable and customer program resource planning, regulatory interface on many renewable matters and implementation of all renewable programs.

Mr. Mahrer received his MBA from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, a Master of Science from Washington State University and his Bachelor of Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Jonathan Adelman has been employed by Xcel Energy since 2002 and has worked in a number of areas at the Company including Commercial Trading Operations, Finance, Human Resources and Marketing.  Jonathan is currently the Area Vice President for Strategic Resource and Business Planning.  In this role, he oversees the Company’s long-term generation strategy and business planning activities for Xcel Energy four operating utilities, which includes facilitating and developing asset and financial plans.   Xcel Energy, an electric and gas utility with service territory in eight Western and Midwestern states, serving 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers.

Prior to joining Xcel Energy, Jonathan worked in public accounting.  He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a degree in Accounting with special attainments in Commerce and is an inactive Certified Public Accountant.

For over 20 years, Jeff has been a leader in the energy industry with a background spanning resource planning, market analysis, forecasting, ratemaking, and regulatory policy. In his current role as Director of Resource Planning, Jeff is responsible for ensuring sufficient resources are available to meet customer demand within APS's broad service territory.  Prior to his role in Resource Planning at APS, Jeff held leadership positions in Resource Planning and Load Forecasting at Dominion Resources. Jeff holds undergraduate degrees in Physics and Economics from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Masters of Science degree in Economics from Illinois State University, and has completed all coursework for a Ph.D. in Economics at Louisiana State University.

Becky Robinson is the Deputy Director of the Division of Economic and Technical Analysis in the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  In this role, she helps lead a multidisciplinary group of FERC staff that evaluates the functioning of market rules and offers recommendations on potential policy reforms for Commission consideration.

Prior to her current role, she was a Technical Advisor to Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur for almost three years, where she advised on technical wholesale market matters generally, and in particular was responsible at various times for matters in PJM, the California ISO, the Western Interconnect, and the Southwest Power Pool.  Before joining Commissioner LaFleur’s office in June 2015, Ms. Robinson served for five years as an economist in FERC’s Office of Electricity Policy and Innovation, where, in addition to working on a variety of issues in wholesale market design, she focused on revising Commission rules to facilitate the development of interconnection facilities supporting phased generation resources and clarifying the Commission's policy on merchant transmission.  Prior to her time at FERC, she worked as an associate at LECG.

Ms. Robinson received an M.A. in economics from Cambridge University and graduated magna cum laude from Williams College with a double major in mathematics and philosophy.

Melissa Seymour is Executive Director of Central Region Member Relations and Seams Coordination for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). MISO is anindependent, non‐profit organization responsible for maintaining reliable transmission of power in 15 states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. In this role, Ms. Seymour leads a team of customer and regulatory advisors who strive to understand and address the needs and issues of members, stakeholders and state regulators. Additionally, Ms. Seymour’s organization develops and coordinates MISO’s strategy with neighboring transmission system operators, and facilitates new member discussions and integrations.

Ms. Seymour has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining MISO, Ms. Seymour was the Director of Regional Markets and Regulation at Iberdrola Renewables, LLC, where she was responsible for advancing policy changes to better accommodate renewable energy into the power system and create business opportunities for the company. Before Iberdrola Renewables, she held various strategic planning, business development, and regulatory positions at the Bonneville Power Administration, PacifiCorp, Southstar Energy Services and Southern Company Energy Marketing. Ms. Seymour holds a B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the University of Tennessee.

Julia leads engagement on policy and regulatory issues related to Clearway Energy Group, formerly NRG's renewable energy development, including distributed solar, community solar, and utility-scale wind and solar. She currently serves on the boards of the Coalition for Community Solar Access and the Large-Scale Solar Association.  Prior to joining NRG in 2015, Julia was a Principal in Energy Finance at Climate Policy Initiative, where she co-authored numerous reports on clean energy finance and policy. Her previous work experience includes positions with the U.S. Department of Energy and the New York City Office of Management and Budget.  Julia holds a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a BA from Brown University.

Michael Kurzeja is a Sr. Manager within the Corporate Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability group for Exelon Corporation. During his time at Exelon, Michael has had a dynamic and versatile 17-year career in the electricity industry that includes product development/launch, development of business strategy, and a proven track record of incorporating innovations that drive value and transform businesses.

In his current role, Michael incubates new businesses for Exelon and incorporates advanced technologies into existing operating companies. Michael leverages big data/analytics solutions, mobile application development, robotics, augmented reality, wearables, advanced sensors networks, cognitive computing and social media platforms to address challenges facing our industry.

During Michael’s time at Exelon, he has held numerous roles outside of the company in education and non-profits. Michael is currently an adjunct professor at Drexel University’s Close School of Entrepreneurship and has served as a board member for both Collegium Charter School and NAYGN. Prior to joining Exelon, Michael served 5 years in the United States Marine Corps. Michael holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from Grantham University.

Michael has worked in the power and utility industry for nearly ten years. His experience started managing the supply chain for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). During his time at SDG&E Michael focused on the sourcing and contracting for utility and community energy storage, substation and transmission construction, aviation and utility owned solar generation. After spending four years with SDG&E, Michael moved to Sempra U.S. Gas & Power where he led the strategic supply chain for utility scale solar, wind and energy storage for nearly 4 years. In late 2016, Michael joined Origis Energy as their Director of Procurement. He is currently leading the global sourcing and contracting efforts to support the development and construction of the Origis Energy solar and energy storage pipeline, which currently exceeds 1GW+ of projects through 2021. Michael has also completed research engagements for General Atomics into the feasibility of algae to oil facilities in the Pacific.

Michael has Master of Business Administration in Supply Chain/Operations Management from San Diego State University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Bachelor of the Arts in Philosophy both from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also is a Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

John Pflueger, Ph.D., is Dell's Principal Environmental Strategist.  In this role, John is responsible for driving Dell's strategy on issues around Environmental Sustainability – including energy, GHG emissions, materials of concern, material use/recovery/reuse, water and the application of technology to environmental issues.  In addition, John is Dell's lead on understanding Net Positive and how it relates to Dell's current and future business.

Prior to this role, John was Dell's subject matter expert on data center energy efficiency and managed initiatives to help customers improve the productivity of their computer systems and facilities. Since graduating from MIT in 1991 with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, John has been in a number of roles including product definition, development and manufacturing, as well as corporate and social responsibility.

Laura E. Stern is the President of Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC, which she cofounded in 2006. Under her leadership, the company has grown to become one
of the leading solar developers and third-party asset managers in the US. With over twenty years of finance and power industry experience, Ms. Stern has sourced, structured and executed over $3 billion of power, energy and infrastructure investments. During her banking career, she specialized in originating and structuring renewable energy debt financings in the wind, hydro and biomass sectors. Ms. Stern has also sourced and executed senior debt financings for greenfield power development and acquisitions of distressed assets.

Ms. Stern began her career as a consultant, advising the Philippine Government on the privatization of its power, water and wastewater sectors. She holds an AB
with honors from Harvard University and a MA from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

She has been an Elected Director on the SEIA Board of Directors since 2014, currently serving as Treasurer.

Jonathan works at the nexus of energy, water and food systems to promote carbon drawdown. He has worked in sustainable agriculture and food systems for ten years, currently for Organic Valley, America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the nation’s leading organic brands. He has set their strategy to become the world’s largest 100% renewably-powered food company.

Jonathan currently serves on the board of the land conservation non-profit, Ojai Valley Green Coalition and is Board President of the Sustainable Food Trade Association. He earned his MA in Environment & Community from Antioch University Seattle.

Brian is responsible for structured finance and due diligence economic evaluation and execution. Prior to joining sPower, he worked as Senior Analyst with the Commercial Execution group at NRG Renew in Carlsbad, CA. With NRG, Brian was responsible for project-level structured valuations, due diligence and the execution of key documents. His work led to the successful acquisition or development of domestic and international utility scale solar and wind assets. Some highlights include the acquisition of a 25% interest in the Desert Sunlight solar project as well as a landmark C&I PPA award with Cisco Systems Inc.

Brian is a graduate of San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Finance.

Peter is responsible for the day-to-day technical operations of Silicon Ranch Corporation and is leading efforts to develop innovative power marketing strategies and comprehensive energy solutions for our diverse set of customers across the U.S. Peter brings 20-years of experience in the design/build and energy industry. His background includes EPC and asset management experience in conventional and renewable power projects, EHV transmission projects along with power procurement. As a professional engineer and general contractor, Peter brings tremendous operational depth to the Silicon Ranch team.

Beth Reid is a proven leader with over 15 years of experience in the energy industry including senior management positions at multi-national corporations such as ABB and VECTRA Technologies.  Throughout her career she has specialized in creating and implementing customized solutions for clients in regulated and de-regulated markets that incorporate both technological and non-technological components.  Most recently, she has been focusing on helping clients develop cost-effective solutions in the areas of demand response, renewable resource utilization, and other environmental topics.

Beth is a results oriented professional with a record of implementing successful initiatives in the industry ranging from coordination of regulatory filings, to the development of  innovative demand response programs to market entry for renewable generation resources.  Having worked in both the retail and wholesale sectors, most recently as Managing Director at APX, responsible for the Demand Response and Professional Services group, the breadth of Beth’s experience enables her to bring a unique and valuable perspective to client collaborations.

Through her leadership complex initiatives have come to life.  Olivine provides Beth with an opportunity to leverage these skills and capabilities to contribute lasting value to the shift in our energy use and sources.

Beth holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington and completed her undergraduate degree work with a specialty in Economics at the University of Michigan.

Gerry Froese is the Managing Director, Market Structure & New Technology Initiatives at Avangrid Renewables. In this role, Gerry is responsible for acting as Avangrid’s interface with all of the U.S. electricity markets as well as optimizing Avangrid’s extensive renewable portfolio and thermal assets across the United States. He is one of the industry’s experts in integrating intermittent wind resources into the electricity grid and has played a major role in creating Avangrid’s “Self Supply” Pilot program in Bonneville Power Administration’s balancing authority. Gerry has worked at Avangrid Renewables for 24 years and has held a number of senior management positions including Managing Director of Asset Management and Managing Director of Origination. He has more than 37 years of experience in the electricity industry including key management and operating roles at PacifiCorp, Grant County PUD and Manitoba Hydro.

Giles has been a member of InfraRed’s New York-based team since 2014, and is responsible for originating and executing infrastructure investments in North America, principally in the energy, power and renewables sectors, and across both development-stage and operating assets and platforms. Giles also has experience executing transportation transactions in the U.S. and energy transactions in Mexico and Israel.

Prior to joining InfraRed, Giles was a vice president at Goldman Sachs in New York focusing on financial advisory for corporate and asset transactions in the power & utilities, clean energy and chemicals sectors within North America. Before that Giles worked in the infrastructure advisory group at Macquarie in Melbourne and Abu Dhabi. Giles has a B.Com/LLB (Hons) combined degree from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Gene is a Senior Manager on the Corporate Development Team at Invenergy, a Chicago-based clean energy developer.  His role on the Corporate Development Team is developing new market strategy, and he leads the investigation and implementation of strategies to grow Invenergy’s business into new business lines, new geographies, and new technologies.  Gene has led Invenergy’s strategy efforts in Offshore Wind as Invenergy seeks to take advantage of its global footprint and industry leading onshore development team to bring value to the offshore wind segment.

Previously, Gene worked on the M&A team responsible for wind and solar project M&A across the US.  Prior to Invenergy Gene worked at an energy storage start-up, Ambri, McKinsey, and ExxonMobil. He has an MBA from Chicago Booth and an undergraduate degree in engineering from MIT.

Elta is the Grid Edge Content Lead at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables (formerly GTM Research), working on demand-side management in U.S. electricity markets. Prior to joining GTM, Elta pursued a joint Ph.D. funded by the European Commission on Sustainable Energy Technologies and Strategies at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. During her doctoral studies, she researched demand response policies for the implementation of smart grids and has presented her work at both U.S. and European conferences in addition to publishing in international scholarly journals. Elta holds a Master of Science degree in economics and management of network industries and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College.

Brett Weal is a principal in CohnReznick’s consulting group. Based in the Atlanta office, he is responsible for advising clients on structuring renewable energy transactions under partnership tax guidelines. He is also responsible for the compilation and analysis of financial models and for the due diligence of renewable energy projects.

Brett’s experience with numerous tax credits, including the Investment Tax Credit, the Production Tax Credit, the Low-income Housing Tax Credit, the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, and the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program, has led him to be involved in every stage of development of the projects that involve these tax credits. During his time at CohnReznick, he has helped to structure renewable energy transactions in excess of $6 billion.

Brett has broad knowledge of, and experience in, all areas of structuring renewable energy portfolios. His clients include major, publicly-held Fortune 500 companies and renewable energy developers and investors across the United States.

Matt Kibbe is Senior Economist at Inductance Energy Corporation, a company delivering distributed energy via ZEROGRID powered by the Earth Engine.  Producing power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, the Earth Engine requires zero fossil fuels, no combustion, sun, wind, hydro, bio-fuels, or radioactive fuel sources.  ZEROGRID powered by the Earth Engine allows you to consume power where you produce it. The future of distributed energy.

Kibbe is Co-founder and President at Free the People, an educational foundation reaching young people with stories about freedom, community and disruptive innovation. He is also Co-founder and Partner at Fight the Power Productions, a strategic communications firm focused on video production, social media branding and distribution, and compelling storytelling.

He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Austrian Economics Center in Vienna and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.  In 2004 Kibbe founded FreedomWorks, where he served as President and CEO for 11 years. Steve Forbes said, “Kibbe has been to FreedomWorks what Steve Jobs was to Apple.” Previously, Kibbe served as Chief of Staff for a U.S. Congressman, as Budget Director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and as Senior Economist at the Republican National Committee.

Dubbed “The Scribe” by the New York Daily News, Kibbe is the author of several best-selling books, including the #2 New York Times bestseller Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto (HarperCollins, 2013).

Dan is the head of the Energy Storage team at Wood Mackenzie (formerly GTM Research), where he focuses on front-of-the-meter energy storage applications. He previously worked as a Senior Consultant with DNV GL where he focused on competitive energy markets and the intersection of emerging energy business strategies within the broader evolving technological and regulatory environment. Prior to DNV GL Dan worked with Navigant Consulting and the Department of Energy.

Dan has 10 years of experience in the energy space as a researcher, consultant, and analyst. Dan holds a Master’s of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Wind Energy Center and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics-Physics from Brown University.

Matt Cox is the Principal and founder of Powder Day Capital and a register representative for the broker-dealer Pickwick Capital Partners. Matt advises clients in the power and renewables sector on raising debt and equity capital.  He also assists clients with commodities risk management.

Prior to his current role, Matt spent eleven years at Deutsche Bank in New York where he was the Managing Director and Head of Project Finance Origination.  He was also the Managing Director and Head of Commodities Origination for North America.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he spent fourteen years in the PSEG family of companies.  He was a Senior Origination Director for PSEG Energy Resources & Trade focused on the PJM, New York and New England markets.  Matt also had a nine year career as a power engineer at PSEG and held the role of Manager of Engineering Services at PSEG Energy Technologies.
He earned a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology from Temple University and an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University. Matt is also a graduate of the Power Technology Institute’s two-year program in advanced power system engineering.

Zach has been with the City of Austin since 2011 where he manages the Climate Program in the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability.  His primary duties include overseeing the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies across the City organization and community.  Prior to the City of Austin, Zach spent 10 years working in the environmental consulting industry, primarily assisting large industrial clients with environmental data management, greenhouse gas inventories, and sustainability planning.  Zach holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School and undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.

Izzet Bensusan is a Managing Partner & Founder of Captona Partners. He brings several years of expertise in investing, transacting and managing power assets in the emerging sectors of Wind, Solar, Hydro, Biomass, Storage and other new energy sectors.

At Captona, he has built a strong team with deep sector understanding, internal technical and asset management capabilities, and investment expertise across multiple technologies. This integrated, multi-disciplinary approach has allowed Captona to be a more effective operator and selective investor of development and operating-stage assets in the power generation and energy infrastructure sectors.

In his current and prior roles he has been involved in both investing and structuring the capital of numerous power projects. To these projects he has arranged and structured various forms of capital such as Tax Equity, project finance, private placement funds, and preferred equity from institutional markets.

Prior to Captona, he founded Karbone, an award-winning financial services company focused on renewable and traditional energy markets. Since inception over a decade ago, Karbone has serviced utilities, energy developers, institutional investors, and investment firms via its Banking Capital Advisory, Brokerage and Research divisions.

Karbone has helped its clients transact across many commodities such as RECs, SRECs, Carbon Credits, Power Capacity and Hedges. Through its Capital Advisory arm, the Group has advised on Tax Equity structuring, debt and equity raises, and M&A. Karbone's Research division publishes bespoke analytical research in power pricing and environmental commodities for institutional clients.

Prior to Karbone, Mr. Bensusan was a partner at Net2s, a global consulting firm, where he built a division, on privacy and IT security. He managed a team of over 100 consultants.

Mr. Bensusan holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA/MA from Brandeis University.

Rich Latto is the managing member of Spray Rock Capital, an investment firm that focuses on energy transformation. The fund invests in companies that will benefit from the growth of renewable energy generation, utility transformation, electrification of transportation, and increasing industrial efficiency. Spray Rock focuses both on financing private transactions, primarily renewable energy generation, and a broader portfolio of public investments that will benefit from energy transformation. 

Previously, Spray Rock Capital worked with Warburg Pincus’ energy group to evaluate investments. Rich was a founding partner of Longroad Asset Management, where from 2001-2014 he helped create and manage a middle market private equity portfolio.  Prior to that, Rich worked at Goldman Sachs, Amerada Hess, and Drexel Burnham in their energy businesses. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Rich currently is on the board of directors of two companies. He is chairman of Greenwich Associates, which is the leading global provider of market intelligence and advisory services to the financial services industry. In addition, Rich is a director of ABS offshore SPC, a multibillion dollar long short equity fund, where he also serves as an independent trustee for ABS’s long short strategies.

Daniel is a senior research analyst based in Houston currently covering North American power markets with a focus on market design and modeling. As part of GTM Research, he previously covered grid edge markets focusing on grid modernization, utility non-wires alternatives projects, and volt/VAR control. He joined Wood Mackenzie in 2017.

Prior to Wood Mackenzie, Daniel obtained a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in Applied Economics at Cornell University. During his doctoral studies, he conducted research on power markets and rate design focused on the integration of renewable energy, energy storage, and distributed energy resources including the co-development of financial storage rights. He graduated magna cum laude from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering.

Jerry Polacek is a co-founder of Tortoise’s Clean Energy and Infrastructure business and serves as a Managing Director and Group Lead. Previously, Mr. Polacek was a co-founder of Energy & Infrastructure Capital LLC (EIC) and served as its CEO and Chief Investment Officer from 2014 to 2016. Prior to forming EIC, Mr. Polacek was a Managing Director at GE Capital, Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), where he held various leadership roles focused on private equity and credit investment in the global energy infrastructure sector since joining in 2001.

At GE EFS, Mr. Polacek co-founded the renewable energy group in 2006 as head of portfolio management and also managed its energy technology venture capital portfolio. Prior to joining GE, he was a controller at Morgan Stanley in its venture capital investment division and a senior auditor with Ernst & Young where he passed the Certified Public Accountant exam.

Mr. Polacek graduated magna cum laude from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and
Entrepreneurship with honors from Columbia Business School. He is a CFA® charterholder.

James “Jamie” Fine works to reduce the impacts of energy systems used to power buildings, transport and service people, and produce and move goods.

His areas of research and advocacy include design and implementation of market-based policy, modeling the economic, air quality, and health consequences of policy decisions, deploying smart grid for environmental and electricity customer benefits, and facilitating the meaningful involvement of community stakeholders in environmental planning.